China's Dongfeng Race Team secured a place on the podium of the 2014-2015 Volvo Ocean Race at their first attempt, after finishing fourth at the ninth and final leg in Gothenburg, Sweden on Monday.
Skipper Charles Caudrelier and his other eight on-board crew members helmed the Dongfeng boat to cover the 960 nautical miles stretch between Lorient, France to Gothenburg, via a 24-hour pit stop in The Hague, the Netherlands, in four days, nine hours, 31 minutes and 56 seconds.
The fourth finish at the final leg led them to the third position of the overall rankings after two leg wins, five podium results out of nine and one broken mast for Dongfeng.
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, who held an unassailable eight-point lead coming in to Gothenburg, has won the race, while Team Brunel finished the second, the ninth leg winners Team Alvimedica was the fourth and MAPFRE, who had to beat Dongfeng by two places to overtake them, settled for the fifth.
Starting on October 4, 2014 in Alicante Spain, the 12th Volvo Ocean Race has covered nine months, 11 countries and more than 41,000 nm sailing.
One of the two Chinese sailors on board for the final leg, Yang Jiru admitted to have mixed feelings after the grand finish on podium. "I'd hoped the race to finish soon when it's too harsh sailing on the sea, but now I'm just feeling sad when it suddenly comes to an end," said the 24-year-old.
"Eighteen months of this life with this team has taught me a lot. Besides offshore sailing, it has taught me how to deal with situations and emotions I would have never otherwise faced.
"There is still a long way to go but I know from the reaction back home this project has been great for offshore sailing in China," he added. "I hope it will inspire young Chinese sailors for years to come."
This podium finish reaches further than just the realms of the team, and also touches the Chinese sponsors Dongfeng Trucks, Aeolus Tyres and the city of Shiyan, for whom sponsorship and sailing were completely new just last year.
"I want to thank Dongfeng and Bruno (team director Bruno Dubois) for giving me this opportunity," said skipper Caudrelier. "A year ago I never would have believed this possible."` "I have lived the most incredible human story with this team and I am so proud of the progress of the Chinese sailors. Turning Chinese athletes into professional offshore sailors was challenging but it was worth every second," added the Frenchman.
