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On this Thursday afternoon in South Africa, a prize-giving ceremony for the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race

16 days after winning the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race and setting a milestone in Spanish sailing history by becoming the first Spanish boat to take the lead in the round the world regatta at the first leg, today the crew of “Telefónica” was awarded with their well-deserved trophy as winners of the opening leg of the regatta: 6,500 miles of sailing between Alicante (Spain) and Cape Town in South Africa.

The first prize-giving ceremony of the regatta took place at 15:00 GMT in the open air, and in front of a big audience at the Victoria and Alfred amphitheatre, on Cape Town's Waterfront.

Following tradition, the first prize to be awarded went to the third placed entry, followed by the second placed team and finally it as the turn of the winning crew, skippered by double-Olympic medallist from Spain Iker Martínez, who was handed over a replica of the Volvo Ocean Race Trophy by the CEO of Volvo Cars South Africa, the original of which will go to the overall winner of the regatta. 

A bridge between the two editions

Today's photo in Cape Town took the team back to the experience two and a half years ago in Russia, when the Spanish team took the final leg in the 2008-2009 Volvo Ocean Race with “Telefónica Black”. Back then it was an ending to the round the world race, and here in South Africa the trophy marks a beginning, both of them unbeatable for Pedro Campos' team. The project aims to conquer one of Spain's outstanding sporting achievements, to win a round the world regatta.

“This trophy and this win are both a reward for all of the hard work and preparation by the team over the last two years. There's no better way to start the race and we are really happy. However, we mustn't forget that this is a very long competition and there are still seven months of racing ahead”, the “Telefónica” Skipper Iker Martínez said after climbing onto the stage along with the rest of the crew.

From 10am GMT (12:00pm local time) the Pro-Am race will kick off. It's a race that's aimed mainly at sponsors and guests and isn't scored. On Saturday at 13:00 GMT the second of the ten in-port races to be held in this regatta will take place and on Sunday at 13:00 GMT the second leg, with over 5,000 miles of racing between Cape Town and Abu Dhabi ahead.