Top female sailors Carolijn Brouwer and Marie Riou join Dongfeng Race Team for Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18<\/p>\n
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Martin Keruzor\u00e9\/Volvo Ocean race<\/p>\n
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Benoit Stichelbaut \/ Dongfeng Race Team<\/p>\n
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Eloi Stichelbaut\/Dongfeng Race Team<\/p>\n
Dongfeng Race Team have selected Carolijn Brouwer and Marie Riou for their Volvo Ocean Race campaign in 2017-18 \u2013 a move that confirms the impact of a rule change introduced by the race to encourage mixed male-female crews<\/p>\n
Dongfeng Race Team have selected Carolijn\u00a0Brouwer and Marie Riou for their Volvo Ocean Race\u00a0campaign in 2017-18 \u2013 a move\u00a0that confirms the impact of a rule change introduced by the race to encourage\u00a0mixed male-female crews.<\/p>\n
The two women bring a wealth of experience to\u00a0Charles Caudrelier\u2019s team, including a total of five Olympic\u00a0Games and a host\u00a0of world titles. They join\u00a0J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Beyou, Stu Bannatyne and Daryl Wislang, who were announced last week as the first of the campaign\u2019s crew for 2017-18.<\/p>\n
Brouwer, 43, is one of the Netherlands\u2019 most\u00a0respected athletes and a two-time Volvo Ocean Race veteran,\u00a0having competed\u00a0with Amer Sports Too in 2001-02 and Team SCA in 2014-15. She is also a former\u00a0World Sailor\u00a0of the Year and a three-time Olympian.<\/p>\n
She is joined by France\u2019s Riou, 35, who has\u00a0competed twice at the Olympics, including Rio 2016, and has won\u00a0four world\u00a0championships in the Nacra 17 class.<\/p>\n
The pair have been selected following an\u00a0extensive programme of evaluation which included sailing and racing,\u00a0both\u00a0inshore and offshore, in Australia and Portugal.<\/p>\n
Caudrelier, who will skipper Dongfeng again after securing third place in 2014-15, is delighted with\u00a0the addition\u00a0of what he describes as two exceptionally gifted female sailors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI chose Carolijn because she beat us many\u00a0times during the last race when she helmed Team SCA in the In-Port\u00a0Races,\u201d he explained.\u00a0\u201cWe all knew that she is a good helm and she has a big Olympic past and I\u00a0really respect\u00a0that. But her Olympic campaigns have turned her into a very fast\u00a0driver and she knows where to put the boat.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that Riou\u2019s years of Olympic\u00a0racing and training would be of great benefit to his squad.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is a very good Olympic sailor with tons\u00a0of experience. She is also from Brittany so she has a background in\u00a0offshore\u00a0sailing. She is strong, she has a good spirit \u2013 which is the most important\u00a0thing for me \u2013 and she is used\u00a0to sailing with guys. For her, the Volvo Ocean\u00a0Race is a dream and, like Carolijn, Marie wants to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
The selection of Brouwer and Riou is the\u00a0first sign that the rule change, brought in by the Volvo Ocean Race in\u00a0order to\u00a0encourage female sailors who might otherwise be overlooked due to a perceived\u00a0lack of physical\u00a0strength or experience, will have a significant impact across the\u00a0sport.<\/p>\n
Under the new crew rules, all-male teams will be limited to just seven sailors but teams that include female sailors will be able to choose from combinations including seven men plus one or two women; five men plus five women; or 11\u00a0women.<\/p>\n
Brouwer says that winning the Volvo Ocean Race\u00a0has been a goal for many years, and she is delighted to be\u00a0joining a Chinese\u00a0team which she admired during the last race.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very proud to be part of the team,\u201d Brouwer\u00a0said. \u201cOne of the reasons I wanted to join Dongfeng Race Team\u00a0is because of their\u00a0strong team spirit. The Volvo Ocean Race is unique. It\u2019s the ultimate challenge\u00a0physically and\u00a0mentally and, because you are in a team, you get the best out of\u00a0each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Riou will be making her debut in the race.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve wanted to take part in the Volvo Ocean Race since I was 10 years\u00a0old,\u201d\u00a0she said. \u201cAlthough my main experience is in inshore racing, I have always\u00a0wanted to race offshore and for\u00a0me the Volvo Ocean Race is the pinnacle of\u00a0fully-crewed offshore racing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The announcement of the remaining crew\u00a0members of Dongfeng Race Team will be made in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
Dongfeng are one of three teams to have\u00a0announced campaigns for the race so far, along with Team AkzoNobel\u00a0(Netherlands) and MAPFRE (Spain). A fourth team is confirmed and will be announced in late March, with the others to come in the following weeks and months.<\/p>\n
The race will start from Alicante on 22\u00a0October and visit Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Guangzhou,\u00a0Auckland,\u00a0Itaja\u00ed, Newport RI, Cardiff and Gothenburg, before the big finish in The Hague at\u00a0the end of June.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sailor: Carolijn Brouwer<\/p>\n
Born: 25 July 1973<\/p>\n
Place of birth: Leiden, Netherlands<\/p>\n
Previous Volvo Ocean Races: 2<\/p>\n
Achievements: three-time Olympian and multiple\u00a0world champion<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sailor: Marie Riou<\/p>\n
Born: 21 August 1981<\/p>\n
Place of birth: Plougastel-Daoulas, France<\/p>\n
Achievements: two-time Olympian and four-time world\u00a0champion<\/p>\n
via Top female sailors Carolijn Brouwer and Marie Riou join Dongfeng Race Team for Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18| Volvo Ocean Race<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Top female sailors Carolijn Brouwer and Marie Riou join Dongfeng Race Team for Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 Download Martin Keruzor\u00e9\/Volvo Ocean race Download Benoit Stichelbaut \/ Dongfeng Race Team Download Eloi Stichelbaut\/Dongfeng Race Team Dongfeng Race Team have selected Carolijn … Continue reading