Kerala - Kochi   

Ericsson4 may reach Kochi on Sunday

KOCHI: Despite getting caught in the midfield traffic on Thursday night, Spain’s Telefonica Blue found some impressive passing lines on Friday in the Volvo Ocean Race, which is about 335 nautical miles from Kochi.

The Blue, led by Bouwe Bekking and one of the two Telefonica boats in this around-the-world ocean race, made some impressive progress on Friday, moving from the fourth to the second position and in the process, racing past Ericsson3.

Just about a couple of miles separated Telefonica Blue from Ericsson3 and Green Dragon on Thursday but now, Bekking’s boys have a 120-mile lead over third-placed Ericsson3 with Green Dragon and Delta Lloyd in the fourth and fifth spots followed by, in that order, Puma, Telefonica Black and Team Russia.

“We take the glory for the time being, but hold my breath, especially the last couple of hundred miles into the finish, everything can happen,” said Blue’s Bekking.

“I have only heard and seen nice things about the people from India. I am looking forward to reach port, and to see what Cochin is like.”

Meanwhile, Ericsson4, the winner of the first leg from Alicante in Spain to Cape Town, is in a league of its own. The Swedish team, the race favourite, has nearly doubled the lead over its nearest boat and now has a 111-mile advantage. It is expected to reach Kochi on Sunday.

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