Volvo Ocean Race: Peter Burling's Team Brunel win Leg 9

Peter Burling has moved into contention to claim sailing's triple crown after sailing Team Brunel to victory in Leg 9 of the Volvo Ocean Race.

The leg from Newport to Cardiff was the last double-points leg of the race, and the win puts Brunel just three points off DongFeng Race Team at the top of the standings.

Burling's team led the way for the majority of the 3300 nautical miles (6111km) leg, but faced a tough challenge in Team AkzoNobel.

Sailing into Cardiff on Tuesday afternoon (NZ time), it turned into a match race between the two boats, with little to split them.

Brunel had been pipped at the end of the last leg, but refused to let that happen again - finishing a mere four minutes ahead of AkzoNobel in second.

"I'm pretty stoked we were able to take the win," Burling said. "Obviously incredibly tired, it was such a battle.

"To have the sails down now and have a rest, have some real food, it's just an unreal feeling to know you've managed to take a win on a pretty critical leg."

Burling told Radio Sport his body was feeling "absolutely broken" after the leg.

"We did probably 40 tacks match racing AkzoNobel in that last little while. The body's definitely pretty sore, pretty painful. We're definitely looking forward to a good night's sleep - it's been a while since we've had one."

For the win, Brunel take 14 points plus a bonus point. DongFeng crossed the line in third to take over at the top place on the ladder.

With just two legs remaining, the event has become a three-horse race between Brunel, DongFeng and Blair Tuke's MAPFRE.

Winning Olympic gold in 2016 and the America's Cup in 2017, both Burling and Tuke were in the hunt for the rare triple crown - which involved winning the three major events in the same cycle.

Tuke's MAPFRE missed a chance to extend their lead at the top in leg 9, crossing the line into Cardiff in fifth place which saw them fall one point behind DongFeng on the ladder.

The final two legs were much shorter than what the fleet have just raced over. Leg 10 from Cardiff to Gothenburg, Sweden, is 1300nm (2407km), while leg 11 from Gothenburg to The Hague in Netherlands is 700nm (1296km)