| | In brief:
- Fourth place finish for team AkzoNobel
- Team AkzoNobel sailed with one less crew member than the other teams
- Skipper Simeon Tienpont praises crew for result. Watch video here.
- A week to recuperate before Lisbon in port race followed by Leg 2 start | | | | 
| | Team AkzoNobel arrives in Lisbon in 4th place after Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race
| | | Saturday, October 28, 2017: Team AkzoNobel has finished fourth in the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 – a six-day passage from Alicante, Spain to Lisbon, Portugal.
The team AkzoNobel crew, led by Simeon Tienpont, crossed the finish line in the Tagus river adjacent to the Volvo Ocean Race Village at 1811 UTC (2011 CEST) this evening – six days, six hours and 11 minutes since leaving Alicante on October 22.
Ahead of team AkzoNobel were leg winners Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA), second placed Mapfre (ESP) and Dongfeng Race Team (CHN) in third.
It was an impressive performance, especially since team AkzoNobel sailed the leg with one fewer sailors than the six other teams. Tienpont was quick to pay tribute to his crew’s gutsy never-say-die performance.
“We were pleased to be out there racing and after the start we just all did our thing. We trusted in the way we had set the boat up and we proved we could pass people.
“Rosco [Ross Monson] did an amazing job of getting us out of the Mediterranean with a bit of a head start, which helped given we were one short.
“Once we got to the third night, we just kept pushing hard and everyone had to step up with longer driving and longer trimming. But now we are very happy with our fourth place – it’s a very good result.” | | | | 
| | Team AkzoNobel in action on Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18
© Konrad Frost / Volvo Ocean Race - download | | | After completing the short inshore section of the course in Alicante on Sunday October 22 in seventh place, a bold breakaway move by reserve navigator Ross Monson (GBR) in the early hours of Monday morning saw team AkzoNobel and Vestas 11th Hour Racing break from the pack to find better breeze close to the Spanish coast.
The move saw these two boats emerge as the frontrunners and the pair led the fleet through the Gibraltar Strait that evening and out across the Atlantic towards the first turning mark in the 3,463-kilometer course – the Madeiran Atlantic island of Porto Santo.
Team AkzoNobel became engaged in a tactical battle for second place with Spanish crew Mapfre which lasted the entire way to Porto Santo. The two crews traded positions several times before Mapfre gained the upper hand shortly before the turn and rounded ahead but with team AkzoNobel close astern, just before dawn on Thursday, October 26.
By the next turning mark Vestas 11th Hour and Mapfre had pulled ahead and the team AkzoNobel sailors now found themselves under threat from Chinese entry Dongfeng Race Team.
The final section of the course to the finish line in Lisbon was a straight-line speed race that saw team AkzoNobel eventually succumb today (Saturday, October 28) to a prolonged attack by Dongfeng Race Team.
The team AkzoNobel crew chased hard all the way to the end of the leg, but eventually had to settle for fourth place at the finish, an hour and 14 minutes behind the Chinese boat. | | | | 
| | Team AkzoNobel passes through the Straits of Gibraltar on Leg 1 of the
Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18
© Konrad Frost / Volvo Ocean Race - download | | | Summing up the mood of the crew, watch captain Nicolai Sehested said:
“It’s a result that we have to be happy with. As a crew, we always want more – but this is a good result to build on for the rest of the race.”
The team AkzoNobel sailors now have less than a week to rest and recuperate before their next competitive outing, the Lisbon in port race on Friday, November 3. Two days later they will set off from Lisbon on the 12,964-kilometer second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, bound this time for Cape Town, South Africa.
Team AkzoNobel Leg 1 crew list:
Simeon Tienpont (NED) – skipper, watch captain
Brad Farrand (NZL)
Antonio Fontes (POR)
Martine Grael (BRA)
Luke Molloy (AUS)
Ross Monson (GBR) – navigator
Emily Nagel (GBR/BER)
Nicolai Sehested (DEN) – watch captain | | | | For further information, please contact:
Emily Caroe (+44 7785 565929) or Justin Chisholm (+44 7408 838815)
About team AkzoNobel:
Team AkzoNobel is a professional ocean racing team challenging for the 2017-18 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race around the world. The team is owned and managed by leading global paints and coatings company AkzoNobel and led by Dutch skipper Simeon Tienpont – a double America’s Cup winner and two-time Volvo Ocean Race competitor.
About AkzoNobel:
AkzoNobel creates everyday essentials to make people's lives more liveable and inspiring. As a leading global paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals, we supply essential ingredients, essential protection and essential color to industries and consumers worldwide. Backed by a pioneering heritage, our innovative products and sustainable technologies are designed to meet the growing demands of our fast-changing planet, while making life easier.
Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, we have approximately 46,000 people in around 80 countries, while our portfolio includes well-known brands such as Dulux, Sikkens, International, Interpon and Eka. Consistently ranked as a leader in sustainability, we are dedicated to energizing cities and communities while creating a protected, colorful world where life is improved by what we do.
AkzoNobel’s 2016 revenue totaled €14.2 billion: Specialty Chemicals €4.8 billion; Decorative Paints €3.8 billion; Performance Coatings €5.7 billion. | | | | | |
