Dongfeng Race Team unveil full crew with winning pedigree

With 158 days to go until the start of the 2017-18 edition, Dongfeng Race Team have announced their full crew at an event in the heart of Paris.

The squad – led by skipper Charles Caudrelier – features 12 sailors from six sailors, and combines youth with experience.

With five Volvo Ocean Race wins, five Olympic campaigns and 32 Solitaire du Figaro campaigns, including five wins, between them, the crew knows exactly what it takes to win the toughest test of a teamwork in professional sport.

In addition to Caudrelier, the crew includes Figaro and Transat Jacques Vabre winner Pascal Bidégorry, who returns as navigator. An ocean racing record-setter, Bidégorry was Caudrelier's righthand man, in the previous edition of the race, and played a key role in the team's meteo and tactical strategy.

The French offshore all-rounder Kevin Escoffier, another pillar from the last campaign, is also back in the squad. Escoffier is not only a brilliant offshore sailor but an expert technician and boat builder.

Already announced are Kiwi Race veterans Stu Bannatyne, who will compete in the race for the eighth time, and Daryl Wislang who won the last edition with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.

I wanted a group of people on the boat who will grow stronger in adversity, never give up and have some fun along the way too

Charles Caudrelier

Jeremie Beyou, the French Vendée Globe podium finisher and one-design offshore specialist, also joins the team – competing in his debut Volvo Ocean Race campaign.

Bannatyne, Wislang and Beyou will share watch captain duties on Dongfeng.

The team's two female stars are Marie Riou of France, a four-time world champion in the Nacra 17 class, and Carolijn Brouwer from Holland who has already sailed the race twice with all-female crews and is a previous ISAF Sailor of the Year.

On the bow and also helping with helming duties is the up-and-coming Australian/British sailor Jack Bouttell, a veteran of three Figaro campaigns.

As before, Dongfeng Race Team remains committed to helping to establish offshore ocean racing in China and the sailing crew includes three young Chinese pioneering sailors – Yang Jiru (Wolf), Xue Liu (Black) and Jinhao Chen (Horace) - originally selected and trained for the 2014-15 race.

Commenting on the full sailing squad for first time, Caudrelier said: "I wanted a group of people on the boat who will grow stronger in adversity, never give up and have some fun along the way too."

The difference between being on a mixed team and Team SCA? The only difference is that there is no difference between us

Carolijn Brouwer

He added: "We will be living in close quarters for months. We will be wet, cold, hungry, hot, exhausted and desperate for sleep at times, so the relationships we build have to be strong to withstand those pressures. I am happy with the squad we have assembled and I am confident that we will measure up to the task ahead."

In this campaign Dongfeng Race Team is looking to improve on its impressive debut appearance in the Volvo Ocean Race when it surprised pundits and fans alike by finishing third overall.

"The key has been to use our experience from 2014-15 and add to it, not rely on it," said Team Director, Bruno Dubois at the press conference.

"Appointing Charles Caudrelier as skipper was the first step. I know that Charles is more determined than ever to improve on his superb performance three years ago and he has demonstrated that he has the leadership skills to deal with the unique demands of Dongfeng Race Team. But we have added some new ingredients to the mix – high-achieving men and women who bring experience and a hunger for success that fits our philosophy," added Dubois.

Officials at Dongfeng Motor Corporation said the company's 170,000 employees are looking forward to following their team as they make their way around the world. "From all of us at Wuhan in China, we wish the crew all the best, and we look forward to Dongfeng Race Team achieving a good result in this new campaign."