MAPFRE skipper Xabi, who also boasts an Olympic gold and silver medal, has spent the last decade chasing victory in the Volvo Ocean Race – and has packed his squad with highly-experienced and decorated sailors ahead of the 2017-18 edition. “Blair is a really exciting sailor for the team,” explained Fernández. “Nobody can doubt his talent, and I am absolutely convinced that he will be a really strong addition to the team as trimmer and helmsman.”“We first met Blair in 2010, when we raced against Peter Burling and Blair in the last World Championships we participated in. Then, in 2012, when we were in Auckland with the Volvo Ocean Race, we trained with them in a 49er on our rest days preparing for the London Olympic Games,” explained Fernández. “In 2014-15, he joined us on MAPFRE sailing in a ProAm, and on the start day he was our ‘jumper’ for the leg start – and he told us then that he wanted to one day take part in the Volvo Ocean Race.”Pedro Campos, CEO of the team, said: “It’s excellent news that Blair has joined us – there is no doubt that he is one of the great names of our sport at the moment. The fact that he has accepted our invitation to join the team make us proud and demonstrates the international prestige that MAPFRE holds across the world. If we could win this edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, Blair would become the first sailor in history to achieve the ‘Triple Crown’: Olympic gold, the America’s Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race, which will generate strong international media coverage of our team.”MAPFRE will be joined on the start line by Dongfeng Race Team (skippered by Charles Caudrelier), team AkzoNobel (Simeon Tienpont), Vestas 11th Hour Racing (Charlie Enright), Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (David Witt), Turn the Tide on Plastic (Dee Caffari) and Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking). The race departs from Alicante on 22 October 2017.The race takes in a total of 12 Host Cities around the world, finishing in The Hague at the end of June 2018.

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