Tuke primed for his biggest test
Blair Tuke is an Olympic and America’s Cup champion, but he expects to be tested like never before by the Volvo Ocean Race.
A key figure in Team New Zealand reclaiming the Auld Mug last month and a gold medallist alongside Peter Burling, the helmsman of the Kiwi boat in Bermuda, at the Rio Games last year, Tuke yesterday confirmed he was joining Spanish outfit Mapfre for the 2017 edition of the aroundthe-world event.
The affable 27-year-old heads for Sanxenxo next Friday to link up with his new team, giving him just a week at home in Kerikeri to relax and shake off a niggly cold he admits was likely brought on by the prolonged and well deserved Cup celebrations up and down the country.
Given the huge achievements of the last 12 months and what lay ahead with ‘‘The Volvo’’ as it is widely known’’, Tuke said there was no doubt he was living his dream.
‘‘I feel very fortunate to be able to do what I love, race with my mates and race at such a high level of competition.
‘‘It’s taken a lot of hard work over the years, and it’s going to take a lot more in the future to, but I’m loving it and I feel very fortunate.’’
‘‘For me I don’t really get caught up in the headlines, it’s more about trying to get better and improve as a sailor and person and hopefully the results speak for themselves.
‘‘It’s been an awesome run and this next one is going to test me like I’ve never been tested before . . . I’m really looking forward to that challenge.’’
With Olympic and America’s Cup glory already to his name, locking in a spot aboard Mapfre gives Tuke the chance to achieve an extremely rare sailing triple crown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, though, he said that was not something he had even considered until others had mentioned it and reiterated the Volvo was simply a race he had wanted to do since he was a kid.
It was only now that the timing had worked and Tuke couldn’t wait to add his skill-set to the boat skippered by hugely successful Spaniard Xabi Fernandez, an Olympic 49er gold and silver medallist who the Kiwi duo had previously raced against.
As for how it affected his future as an America’s Cup sailor, Tuke didn’t expect this new chapter in his career to get in the way.
Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton and chief operating officer Kevin Shoebridge, both former offshore racers themselves, had been encouraging about the Volvo opportunity and Tuke reiterated his desire to defend the Auld Mug ‘‘in New Zealand, for New Zealand’’.
He expected his future in that regard to be decided in the coming months, once more had been confirmed about the next Cup regatta, while a call on whether he and Burling would contest the 2020 Olympics would likely follow soon after.
‘‘It doesn’t super affect what Pete and I have planned for the Olympics,’’ Tuke said.
The around-the-world race begins on October 22, starting in Alicante, Spain.