From Olympic gold medal to the Volvo Ocean Race. The great return of Xabi Fernandez
Spain’s Olympic gold medallist Xabi Fernandez will return to skipper MAPFRE in the Volvo Ocean Race in 2017-18, the Spanish campaign announced on Friday, 17 February.
The 40-year-old Xabi, who has taken part in the Volvo Ocean Race four times, won Olympic gold in Athens 2004, and followed that up with a silver in 2008 – both times alongside his long-term sailing partner Iker Martínez.
The two men shared leadership duties during MAPFRE’s 2014-15 campaign but with Iker making the decision to focus on other professional projects, Xabi will take sole charge this time.
“The Volvo Ocean Race is an enormously difficult challenge combining human adventure, world-class sport, technical expertise, logistics on a global scale, and a unique communications platform,” said Xabi.
“Being fortunate enough to be back on the start line, with a chance to claim victory, is something that we are very proud of, and I’m thankful to MAPFRE for believing in a project that began back in 2014.”
Xabi will return to the Volvo Ocean Race after finishing his work for Sir Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup campaign, Land Rover BAR.
Xabi previously competed onboard movistar in 2005-06, Teléfonica Blue in 2008-09, and Teléfonica in 2011-12, before joining MAPFRE for the last edition.
“The short-term objectives are, firstly, to finish the work on the boat and take delivery from The Boatyard in Lisbon at the end of the month. Later, we will confirm the rest of the crew with training that begins in Sanxenxo in mid-March.”
He added: “We have eight months of hard work and optimisation ahead – not only in terms of the boat, but the performance of the team – so that we can depart Alicante on 22 October with a real possibility of winning.”
MAPFRE competed in the Volvo Ocean Race for the first time in 2014-15, continuing a long-standing tradition that has seen Spanish-flagged boats in eight of the previous 12 editions.
Antonio Huertas, President of MAPFRE, said: “Xabi is a fantastic skipper, who is committed to MAPFRE and shares our values. This addition is magnificent news for the campaign. We know that he will proudly carry the MAPFRE name around the world.”
Pedro Campos, general manager of the team, has been involved in every edition since 2005-06, and is delighted with the appointment. “There isn’t a sailor in the world that doesn’t respect Xabi’s talent, experience and determination,” he said.
“Last edition, he clearly demonstrated his ability to organise and lead, gaining success such as the Leg 4 victory into Auckland, New Zealand. Without doubt, Xabi is the best possible skipper for MAPFRE.”
The Volvo Ocean Race starts in Alicante on 22 October 2017 and will finish in The Hague at the end of June 2018. The Race will feature a total of 12 Host Cities and take the teams over 45,000 nautical miles around the world.
Three teams have so far announced their campaigns – Team AkzoNobel (skippered by Simeon Tienpont), Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier) and MAPFRE (Xabi Fernández).