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Double Olympic Champion and sub-two-hour marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge recently visited the British America’s Cup team, INEOS Britannia, at their base in Barcelona. The talented athlete delivered a motivational message to the team as they strive to make history by becoming the first British team to win the prestigious America’s Cup.

During his visit, Kipchoge participated in a pre-race briefing and watched as the crew prepared to compete on the second day of the Louis Vuitton Cup (Challenger Selection Series). He shared valuable insights, advising the team, “My best advice is to believe in yourselves. Prepare and plan well to execute but always believe and push hard. Trust is what bonds the team; when you have trust within a team, that’s what pushes you to win.”

However, the second day of the race didn’t go as planned for INEOS Britannia, as they were set to race against the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand. Unfortunately, the Kiwis had to withdraw from the races due to damage sustained to their boat. The incident occurred when Emirates Team New Zealand was lifting their AC75 ‘Taihoro’ from the water. The boat landed heavily on its supporting cradle, prompting the team to assess the damage and determine the needed repairs before returning to racing.

Ben Ainslie, Team Principal and Skipper of INEOS Britannia, shared his thoughts on the situation: “It’s a really unfortunate incident for them. Hopefully, they can resolve things quickly. I’m sure they can; the Kiwis are usually pretty tough at coming back from setbacks like that, so we hope to see them back on the race course soon.”

Due to racing regulations, Emirates Team New Zealand’s scheduled races against INEOS Britannia and the Orient Express Racing Team had to proceed as “Ghost Races.” In these cases, GBR and FRA were required to cross the start line to win the point, despite the opponents being absent. It is important to note that points for races involving Emirates Team New Zealand will not count for the challengers, ensuring that the standings of the challengers vying for a chance against them in the America’s Cup Match remain unaffected.

Ainslie explained the situation further: “Although we weren’t racing anyone, it was a good chance to get out on the water and try some different things. We’ve been developing a lot over the last few days, so we worked on those things and got good preparation for the races coming tomorrow. It’s obviously an interesting dynamic with the Ghost Races, especially as the races against the Kiwis do not count for points, but we will take all the time on the water we can get.”

Originally, there were supposed to be two Ghost Races that day. However, the second race with France did not happen as racing was abandoned due to conditions not meeting the wind test. This also impacted the other two scheduled races. The first race featured the New York Yacht Club’s American Magic against Alinghi Red Bull Racing, with both teams struggling in the light wind conditions, but the Americans managed to secure a victory. Following that, the Americans were set to face Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli; however, this race was suspended before it began due to insufficient wind. Consequently, day two consisted of just one actual race and one ghost race.

The Round Robin stage of the Louis Vuitton Cup is set to resume tomorrow, with INEOS Britannia scheduled for a double race day against Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. Fans can catch the live broadcast in the UK on TNT Sports starting at 13:00 BST (14:00 CEST).

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