Dee Caffari and Anna Corbella claim sixth place into Palma on Leg 5 of the Vuelta a Espana At 10.36 hrs BST today, the crew aboard GAES Centros Auditivos completed the 140 miles between the towns of Calpe and Palma, which formed the penultimate stage of the Vuelta a Espana. The Open 60 skippered by British yachtswoman Dee Caffari and Spaniard Anna Corbella finished in sixth position despite encountering serious problems with the main winch during the leg.
As they passed through Formentera, the GAES Centros Audutivos crew were third in the fleet, however, problems with the main winch then saw them drop back several places to seventh. A thrilling struggle with Central Lechera Asturiana just two miles from the finish allowed them to pass their race rivals to finish sixth, which is also their position overall in the competition.
On arriving in Palma, Dee Caffari commented, “It was a shame because we were third past Formentera. We have been forced to change our tactics and just could not catch the other boats. We did a great job in the first part of this race, which is really encouraging.”
Anna Corbella added: “On the one hand we are pleased to have regained a place just before the finish line but are somewhat disappointed because we were racing really well until we had the problem with the winch.”
Safran and PRB once again secured first and second positions respectively, with W Hotels across the finish line in third. Estrella Damm and Movistar finished fourth and fifth, less than two minutes apart highlighting the close racing in this competition.