Last Saturday 4 October the first race of the Volvo Ocean Race, the In-Port race in the port of Alicante, took place.

Last weekend, Alicante celebrated one of the most important days of the Volvo Ocean Race for the city. On Saturday 4 October the in-port race took place, and the Spanish teams took lead positions in the competition.

The Telefónica Blue team took the lead in the two legs of the first race, taking lead position in the classification. The Telefónica Black team came second overall after coming in second in the first race and third in the second race.
The overall classification is:

Telefónica Blue: 4 points.
Telefónica Black: 3.5 points.
Puma: 3 points.
Ericsson 4: 2.5 points.
Green Dragon Team: 2 points.
Delta Lloyd: 1 point.
Ericsson 3: 0.5 points.
Team Russia: 0.5 points.

Sunday 5 October also had its moment of glory when the next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race was announced for 2011. Although the departure port was not announced, the news was received with much enthusiasm by this edition’s sponsors and competitors.

Next Saturday 11 October, the 10th Edition of the Volvo Ocean Race officially starts from the port of Alicante. This edition is one of the most ambitious, lengthy and challenging. Alicante is honoured by being the first Mediterranean port and the second Spanish port to be the starting point for the round-the-world yacht race.

Next weekend, their Royal Majesties the King and Queen of Spain will visit the city of Alicante to watch the start of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009.