Euro trip
Plans for a European tour of The Ocean Race have been confirmed for July 2021.
Photography by Jesus Renedo
29 July 2020
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Following the announcement of a new ten-year plan for one of the toughest races around the world, Chairman of The Ocean Race Richard Brisius has officially confirmed a European tour for 2021.
“It’s always been part of many strategies around the race, what we do in between the around the world races,” revealed Brisius in an interview with Dutch sailing media platform Zeilhelden.
“There are two big gaps in between the races, so when we took over the responsibility and the legacy of this race, we realised it would be ideal to have a European-centric event in between the round the world races.”
“We had a plan for 2023, but given the new ten-year plan, and given
what has happened in the world and in Europe, we’ve seen that now is a great opportunity to launch this race next year in 2021.”
Brisius also revealed that the event may be open to other classes than the VO65 and IMOCA 60.
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“With short offshore legs between European cities, the tour will be a bit of a festival format. It will be a good preparation period for teams and organisers. For host cities and sponsors, the European circuit will be attractive as well.”
The start of The Ocean Race is postponed to October 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however Brisius confirmed, “The Ocean Race has been around since 1973. For sure, it’s going to be around for much much longer than that – that’s my vision.”
He continued, “It is probably the toughest challenge you can take on as an athlete and as a sailor. And to do that properly, we can see from winning teams in the past, you need time to prepare.”
“It’s not only about performance, it’s also about safety and getting ready. So, in discussions with the sailors, the teams, with cities and partners, we concluded that everyone would benefit from more time.”
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