Joe Sullivan and co heroes as pedal-power saves Team New Zealand against Artemis in thrilling America's Cup qualifier finish

The Team New Zealand crew react following the dramatic ending to race six. Photo / Ricardo Pinto

Hero cyclor Joe Sullivan admitted it was a "bit of a shock" to look up and see Artemis closing in on Team New Zealand down the final reach as the Kiwi team came within a second of blowing a handy lead and match point in the Louis Vuitton challenger final.

Pedal-power saved the day for Emirates Team New Zealand as the cyclors on board produced an explosive burst of power to get the Kiwi boat across the line after a late mishap.

An error as the team rounded the final mark saw the New Zealand boat came to a virtual standstill just 200m from the finish line, with Artemis closing in on them fast.

To get the boat moving again, the Kiwi cyclors - who were already operating under fatigue at the end of a gruelling race - were forced to dig deep to top under the hydraulic pressure and wind the daggerboard up.

By the time the boat got moving again Artemis had closed to within a boat length, setting up a thrilling drag race to the finish.

Team NZ claimed the win - their second of the day - by just one second, to move to match point in the challenger final.

As the team crossed the finish line one second ahead of Artemis, foil trimmer Blair Tuke jumped straight up to give the power men Sullivan, Andy Maloney and Carlo Huisman a big pat on the back.

After the race an elated Sullivan admitted the late fumble had certainly elevated stress levels on board, but the team didn't panic.

"It was a bit of a shock to see them right on our side, but that's the thing about this team, we never give up. Full resilience, and we will do everything we can to cross that line first," Sullivan told the Herald.

"We were doing plenty of manoeuvres [in the third race] so we were using plenty of oil. It was just a simple error at the final mark and we just had to dig deep, to keep working hard.

"As a team we pulled through and we kept giving it our all. I just have full trust in what the boys are doing and all I can do is work as hard as I can to get the board down."

Team NZ helmsman Peter Burling said the mishap was a result of "poor communication" on his behalf.

"We all thought we'd be able to lay through the gate and do a nice gybe after the gate, but then, because we didn't lay through, it became pretty hard," he said.

"The boys dug pretty deep - the legs were a little tired at the end of that, but the amount of power they were able to put out to get that board down was pretty key."

The one-second victory could prove crucial in the context of the final.

Team NZ now need just one win to earn the right to take on Oracle Team USA in the America's Cup match.

A loss would have seen Artemis level the score at 3-all and strike a massive psychological blow for the Kiwis.