Introducing: MAPFRE

MAPFRE will attempt to make history in the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race – by becoming the first Spanish team ever to lift the coveted trophy.

Eight months of the most brutal racing on water stands in their way, but if ever there was a team to take on this monumental challenge – and succeed – it's this one.

The lynchpin of the team is skipper Xabi Fernández – an inspirational leader with four Volvo Ocean Races under his belt, not to mention gold and silver Olympic medals.

Fernández steps into the leadership role for 2017-18 after deputising for longtime sailing partner Iker Martinez in the 2014-15 race where MAPFRE finished fourth overall. He led the Spanish team to a Leg 4 victory into Auckland on his first leg in charge last edition.

Determined to sail into the history books this time round, he has assembled a stellar crew made up of Spain's top sailors complemented by a host of big names from throughout the sport.

All eyes will be on America's Cup winner and Rio 2016 gold medallist Blair Tuke, who joins the team as a helmsman and trimmer for his first foray into offshore racing. The Kiwi steps into the 2017-18 edition – racing alongside long-term sailing partner Pete Burling, who is onboard Brunel – knowing that if he can get his hands on the Volvo Ocean Race trophy then he will make history, by becoming the first to win the sport's Triple Crown of titles. Not bad for an under 30, huh?

And, crucially, Fernandez has secured the talents of one of the best navigators in the world – Spain's own Joan Vila.

The 55-year-old has been coaxed back to the Volvo Ocean Race after a 15-year absence, charged with outsmarting MAPFRE's rivals at any opportunity in their pursuit of the ultimate goal.

The rest of the team reads like a who's who of ocean sailing, from race veterans Rob Greenhalgh, Pablo Arrarte and Antonio 'Neti' Cuervas-Mons, to Spain's Olympic gold medallist Tamara Echegoyen.

Even MAPFRE's youth sailors are brimming with experience – Willy Altadill, Sophie Ciszek and Louis Sinclair all competed in the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race, with the latter onboard winning team Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.

It might be early days but MAPFRE's bid for victory has already gotten off to a flying start with a win in Leg Zero, the four-stage qualifying series – where they scooped a world record time in the opening stage, the Around the Island Race.

And while Leg Zero can't be compared to the super-long, gruelling ocean legs of the Volvo Ocean Race proper, it serves as a hint of what the Spanish team have in store for when the boats depart Alicante on 22 October.