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MADRID: Galway in Ireland will be the final stop of the next Volvo Ocean Race, the world's most gruelling offshore yachting event, the organisers said on Wednesday.
They said the competitors will sail from Lorient in northwest France to the port in western Ireland on the final leg of the 2011-12 edition.
The organisers have already announced that Cape Town in South Africa and Lisbon will be among the seven or eight stops on the race, which will start from the event's home base in the Spanish Mediterranean port of Alicante.
The full route for the event, which first began in 1973 as the Whitbread race, will be unveiled by the end of March.
Galway, which hosted a stopover in 2009 during the last edition of the Volvo race, "fought an intense contest against the other bidding ports to win back the event for a second edition," the organisers said in a statement.
"The Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 will complete its lap around the globe in Ireland's 'cultural heart', where the final prize-giving will be held."
Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen hailed the decision.
"The 2009 stopover in Galway made an abiding impression on the sailors, support crews, organisers and media, who were immersed in the warmth of an Irish welcome...
"Given its economic benefits and its importance to Irish tourism, I am more than happy to welcome the return of the Volvo Ocean Race to our shores and pledge our support for the event".
Between 10 and 12 teams are expected to take part in the next Volvo Ocean Race.
Sweden's Ericsson 4 won the 2008-09 edition, a 37,000-mile course that began in Alicante and ended in St Petersburg, Russia. - AFP/de
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