A flying finish from MAPFRE into Auckland during leg six in the Volvo Ocean Race has seen Kiwi Blair Tuke get one over on his Olympic partner Peter Burling.
Tuke's MAPFRE, which also featured Kiwi Louis Sinclair, claimed the final spot on the podium behind AkzoNobel and Scallywag when thefleet arrived in Auckland on Wednesday, with Burling's Team Brunel crossing the line sixth.
"There'll be a bit of bragging rights, but I feel a little sorry for those guys," Tuke said.
"They got a tough break out of New Caledonia.
"The weather model sort of had split as to what side of the high pressure to go was going to be the quickest way to Auckland. They chose to go east, it turned out to be the wrong call and they were way out of it from there.
"So it'll be bragging rights, but not super bragging. None of us won so it'll be good to catch up for a beer."
While a number of the other vessels in the fleet found themselves making slow progress around the top of the country, MAPFRE managed to keep a relatively consistent speed for the run home.
Team MAPFRE arrive in Auckland at the end of leg six of the Volvo Ocean Race. Photo / Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race
The played a big part in landing them on the podium in what was a big comeback by the crew who looked like they wouldn't challenge the leaders for quite some time during the leg.
"We were having a really close battle with DongFeng here and that was really what we were concentrating on - just getting up over them.
"The Northland coast was kind to us...we put some big miles on them and almost got the lead at one stage but we never gave up hope and kept on pushing."
Having been away from New Zealand for the past six months, Tuke said he was looking forward to indulging in a steak and cheese pie and to catch up with friends and family.
"I'll just try to enjoy New Zealand for a couple of weeks before we head off in the Southern Ocean."
