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New Zealand win makes for an exciting competitionJune 24, 2007 Sunday's race looked to be a repeat of Saturday's one as Team New Zealand saw their strong start dissipate with Alinghi powering ahead in the first leg. Alinghi rounded the first mark 19 seconds ahead and looked to maintain that comfortable lead for the remainder of the race. Confident in the speed of their boat, Alinghi sailed an open game but Team NZ managed to reduce the gap to 13 seconds at the second mark and then really made some gains on the 2nd windward leg, rounding the third post 15 seconds ahead of Alinghi. The Swiss team tried to fight their way back into a leading position but their efforts proved futile as the Kiwis sailed remarkably well and widened the gap further through to the finish line. Though things were looking dismal for the Kiwis, they showed that their yacht is definetly up to speed and today's win will give them a definite confidence boost going into the next race on tuesday. |