After more than 45.000 nautical miles and 12 cities visited in eight months of competition, three teams would start the final sprint leg of the Volvo Ocean Race effectively tied, with the eventual winner, Dongfeng Race Team, only securing victory in the final moments.

Leg 10 of the Volvo Ocean Race ended in spectacular fashion, setting up a winner takes all final leg starting on June 21. Following the finish into Gothenburg, the top three teams will start the final leg to The Hague on equal points, with the overall Volvo Ocean Race title on the line. After 45,000 miles of ocean racing, it will all come down to the final, 700-mile sprint.

Leg 9 of the 2017/18 Volvo Ocean Race proved to be a critical in the overall standings, and a crucial stage for each of the team’s campaigns. With double points up for grabs, the teams fought for every one of 3,300 miles in the sprint across the North Atlantic from Newport to Cardiff.

Having left Newport (Rhode Island) on Sunday 20th May, the Volvo Ocean Race is now in its ninth leg. The fleet is heading towards Cardiff, UK, and it is expected to arrive after roughly eight days of Atlantic crossing, which is worth double points for the scoreboard.

The 5,600 nautical miles leg came down to the wire with all seven teams finishing within just over 3 hours - and the first two with just one minute difference.

One week into Leg 8 the whole fleet has crossed the Equator for the last time in this edition of the Volvo Ocean Race. The Doldrums crossing has been pretty mild, and the fleet is back in the Northern Hemisphere heading towards Newport.

Leg 8 start, all seven boats left Itajaí and head towards Newport, Rhode Island (US). The fleet set sails after a welcome rest in Brazil, following a challenging Southern Ocean leg that has seen damages across the fleet and the tragic loss at sea of John Fisher of Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - The gruelling Southern Ocean Leg 7 is finally over with Team Brunel winning after 7600 miles and 16 days of intense racing arriving in Itanjai, Brazil.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - Leg 7 and the fleet round the Cape Horn but all of the competitors are reflecting on the loss of their friend, John Fisher, a few days before. Equipment failoures for MAPFRE and demasting of Vestas - not for the faint hearted.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - In memory of John Fisher who was lost overboard on Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag in difficult conditions - a tragedy for everyone involved in this iconic race.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - The fleet left for the iconic Leg 7 that takes the boats from Auckland to Itajaí, Brazil, via the legendary Cape Horn and through 7,600 nautical miles of mighty Southern Ocean.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - Take a look at Vestas 11th Hour Racing coming back to the Race for the New Zealand Herald In-Port race with a in-depth coverage of the In-Port race and the Auckland stopover. Video Producer: Volvo Ocean Race

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - Epic five team battle to the finish - one of the closest finishes in the history of the event as the 6,100 mile Leg 6 came to a dramatic close in Auckland.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - The fleet are racing to Auckland and throwing the dice on which route to take. Scallywag and AkzoNobel seem to have 'lady luck' or great navigators as they switch to take the lead ahead of the rest of the fleet.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - The fleet starts Leg 6 - the 6,100 slog to Auckland. Unstable weather patterns force many of the teams to gamble in search of the best route through the Doldrums.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - China's City of Flowers, Guangzhou, has hosted the fleet and the stars of the show are the Chinese sailors aboard Dongfeng - meet Wolf, Black and Horace - now poster boys for ocean racing in China.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - The teams lined up again, this time in a 30-mile race around Hong Kong Island, the points also counting towards the In-Port series. MAPFRE capitalised on the smallest gains establishing a 1,000 metre lead that they never relinquished.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - David Witt's Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag claimed a historic victory in their home port to win Leg 4, in VOR's first visit to Hong Kong. Vestas 11th Hour Racing were involved in a tragic incident, colliding with a non-racing vessel during the night.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - Dongfeng Race Team once again find themselves defending a hard-earned early lead to Hong Kong with just over 3,000 miles to go, as they seek their first leg win of the race.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - Dongfeng Race Team once again find themselves defending a hard-earned early lead to Hong Kong with just over 3,000 miles to go, as they seek their first leg win of the race.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - The start of Leg 4 in Melbourne, Australia with the challenging 6,000 mile stretch up to Hong Kong. MAPFRE, with back to back leg wins, are leading overall with Dongfeng Race Team and Vestas 11th Hour Racing hot on their transom. Crew changes for six out of the seven teams except MAPFRE - why change a winning team!

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - 6,500 mile grueling leg from Cape Town to Melbourne and once again MAPFRE take the lead with Dongfeng Race Team dropping back to second. Time to celebrate Christmas in Australia and lots of repairs to the VO65's including Team AkzoNobel after a huge gybe in the Southern Ocean.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - Two teams are leading with Dongfeng Race Team and MAPFRE pushing to the limits to grab the double points on this leg to Melbourne. Hang on tight as the Southern Ocean hits back..

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - Leg 3 and the Roaring Forties. This is the 6,500 mile leg that records are smashed and legends are made with the race to Melbourne, Australia.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - Table Mountain greets the fleet after their grueling 7,000 mile Leg 2. Team Brunel went for stealth mode to cloak their position from MAPFRE in an attempt to take the lead..

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - Time to turn left for Cape Town and nearly finished 7,000 Leg 2 to South Africa. MAPFRE leading the charge to arrive after Dongfeng Race Team delayed their decision to gybe.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - Tactical strategy with the dreaded Doldrums and crossing the Equator paying respect to King Neptune. Dongfeng Race Team leading the pack and MAPFRE chasing them down to Cape Town.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - Leg 2 (Lisbon to Cape Town) and 7,000 miles ahead of the seven teams. The first 48 hours were testing for all when they left Portugal into 30 knot winds and 3 metre swells..

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - The short first leg to Lisbon ended with Vestas 11th Hour, MAPFRE and Dongfeng fighting all the way for the podium places.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - The race is on and some incredible close action with spectator boats on their way to Lisbon, Portugal.

VOR Weekly Wrap Up - The start of Leg 1 in Alicante, Spain with the Inport Race and some prep time for the sprint leg to Lisbon, Portugal.

Close quarters on the start line for the Rolex Fastnet 2017 but also this doubles up as Stage 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race Leg Zero. Just big dinghies jousting for position..well 'Witty' thinks he's still on an 18 Footer!