Kiel confirmed as starting point for The 2025 Ocean Race Europe, 'feels like home' to Team Malizia's Boris Herrmann
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Published 14/02/2024 at 14:10 GMT
The 2025 Ocean Race Europe will provide six weeks of top-class sailing action, and the anticipation ahead of the race was fuelled by the announcement that Kiel will host the start of proceedings. The news was particularly exciting to German Team Malizia skipper Boris Herrmann, who claimed that Kiel "feels like home". Rosalin ‘Rosie’ Kuiper has fond memories of Kiel after The Ocean Race fly-by.
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The countdown to The Ocean Race Europe has accelerated after Kiel in Germany was announced as the starting point for next year’s competition.
This is the second European-focused edition of the race following its debut event in 2021.
Teams will undertake a gruelling route which go through the Baltic Sea, North Sea and English Channel, before heading into the Atlantic Ocean and concluding in the Mediterranean Sea.
“Starting The Ocean Race Europe from Kiel is an opportunity to demonstrate the power of sport to connect us and serve a larger purpose,” said The Ocean Race chairman Richard Brisius.
“I have no doubt that the cutting-edge, foiling IMOCA boats and the extraordinary women and men who sail them will produce an exceptional race on the water and an incredible experience for race fans in Kiel, a two-time host of sailing at the Olympic Games and a city whose Kiel Week regatta has become world-renowned as the home of the largest sailing event in Europe.”
Kiel is a German city with history of sailing heritage after previously being the finish point for the 2001/02 Ocean Race, and hosted the fly-by in the penultimate leg of the 2022/23 edition of the Ocean Race.
The race is due to begin on August 10, 2025, while a date for its conclusion will be confirmed once the race route is finalised.
This announcement is particularly exciting for Team Malizia and their skipper Boris Herrmann, as he looks set to take part in a race which begins in a city which “feels like home.”
“We are all really happy and excited to have The Ocean Race Europe starting in Kiel next year,” he explained.
“Kiel feels like home to me and I grew up sailing here over the years. It’s also home to Geomar [one of the world's leading institutions in marine research] and our science partners.
"This will be an amazing chance for the public to come and meet the team, see the boat and get in touch with our education programme in 2025. For me and Team Malizia this is a great announcement and we can’t wait to compete in the race."
Those sentiments were echoed by Rosalin ‘Rosie’ Kuiper, who recently made the move from Team Malizia to Team Holcim-PRB.
“Germany is such a big part of The Ocean Race and remembering the crowds who came out to support us on Malizia for the fly-by in Kiel was amazing, so to hear we will be starting from Kiel is great news.” she said.
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