TWO-YEAR CYCLE FOR VOLVO RACE
The Volvo Ocean Race will switch from a three-year to a two-year cycle after the upcoming 2017-18 edition, a change that will provide more continuity and more commercial value for professional sailing teams, sponsors and host cities.
Confirmation of the change will mean at least some race activity in every calendar year from now on – meaning more action for fans of sailing’s iconic race around the world, more continuous employment for the professional sailors involved, and even greater return on investment for the stakeholders backing the teams.
The 2017-18 edition starts 22 October from Alicante and will finish at the end of June next year in The Hague, Netherlands. The three races after that will run 2019-20, 2021-22 and 2023-24 and the tender process for host cities is now open for all three editions.
Over the last 20 years, the Volvo Ocean Race has expanded massively from the early routes that made as few as three stops around the world. The race now visits many more markets that are important to both stakeholders and fans and in 2017-18 the route takes in a total of 12 host cities.
The race has already announced that the 14th edition in 2019-20 will be contested in brand new foil-assisted monohull boats. The addition of ‘flying’ multihulls for use inshore means the race will provide the toughest allround test in sailing.
The switch in cycle could also help complete the alignment of sailing’s big race calendar. For the first time in history, the Volvo Ocean Race, America’s Cup, Olympics and Vendée Globe’s two- and fouryear cycles should be in sync with no direct overlap of the actual events.