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Team Holcim-PRB Clinches Victory in Leg 1 of The Ocean Race

Leg One of The Ocean Race 2023: Winners, Standings and Cabo Verde Stopover

The opening leg of The Ocean Race 2023 concluded on Sunday with strong performances across both the IMOCA and VO65 fleets. The IMOCA class was led by Team Holcim-PRB, which completed the leg from Alicante to Cabo Verde in just over five days and eleven hours to secure first place. In the VO65 class, WindWhisper Racing claimed the leg victory, finishing in five days, sixteen hours, thirty-five minutes and twenty-one seconds.

Team Holcim-PRB crossing the finish

GUYOT environment – Team Europe crossed the line in the IMOCA fleet in fifth place after six days, twelve hours, twenty minutes and thirty-seven seconds. Meanwhile, as of Monday morning one VO65 boat, Viva Mexico, was still on the water with approximately 102 nautical miles remaining to Cabo Verde.

The race began in Alicante, Spain, with competitors facing a range of conditions as they left the Mediterranean and entered the Atlantic. Strong Atlantic winds produced fast downwind sailing for many teams, shaping the early leaderboard and testing crews’ ability to manage high-speed sailing and navigation across varying weather systems.

VO65 fleet in close racing

Retirement and Penalties: Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team

One notable development on Leg One was the retirement of the Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team (VO65). The team entered an exclusion zone near Gibraltar and missed a course mark. Rather than attempt to rectify the breach and continue, the team chose to retire from the leg. That decision elevated Austrian Ocean Racing into third in the VO65 class and moved Viva Mexico up a place in the standings.

“We are very disappointed for this,” said Mirpuri skipper Antonio Fontes. “But the crew has done an amazing job getting us out of the Mediterranean in very hard conditions. Then we had the superfast sailing conditions in the Atlantic and it was a lot of fun racing from Gibraltar to here.”

Crews preparing during the stopover

Cabo Verde Stopover: Repairs and Restrictions

During the stopover in Cabo Verde, teams face strict rules on permitted activity. Any work on the boats must be carried out by the sailing crews themselves; outside assistance is not permitted. There will be no in-port race in Cabo Verde, and teams will use the stop to carry out preparatory maintenance under race regulations before setting off on Leg Two.

Leg Two is scheduled to start on Wednesday, 25 January at 05:10 local time, with the fleet bound for Cape Town, South Africa. Crews will use the stop to review systems, rest and plan tactics for the next long ocean crossing.

Race leaders celebrate on arrival

Official Leg One Rankings (12:00 UTC – 22 January 2023)

IMOCA Class

  1. Team Holcim-PRB — Winner Leg One, finished in 5d 11h 01m 59s
  2. 11th Hour Racing Team — finished in 5d 13h 50m 45s
  3. Team Malizia — finished in 5d 16h 35m 21s
  4. Biotherm — finished in 6d 8h 47m
  5. GUYOT environment – Team Europe — finished in 6d 12h 20m 37s

VO65 Class

  1. WindWhisper Racing — finished in 5d 16h 35m 21s
  2. Team JAJO — finished in 6d 4h 52m 52s
  3. Austrian Ocean Racing — Team Genova, finished in 6d 19h 13m 54s
  4. Ambersail 2 — finished in 6d 21h 49m 04s
  5. Viva Mexico — at the time reported, 690.7 miles behind the leader and about 102 nautical miles from Cabo Verde
  6. Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team — Retired from leg

The first leg of The Ocean Race provided an early glimpse of how teams will perform across the course, highlighting the importance of clean navigation, strategic routing and strong onboard teamwork. With Leg Two approaching, teams will focus on repairs and planning to optimize their performance on the long passage to Cape Town.