Intro:

Telefonica 's rudder dramatically broke right near the end of leg eight in Lorient in the Volvo Ocean Race.

It means that Groupama now look almost certain to win this year's competition.

Script:

The heartbroken sailors aboard Telefonica saw their dreams of a fourth leg win evaporate overnight when during the much anticipated and much feared gybe towards the finish in Lorient, Telefonica damaged their port rudder early on Friday before sunlight.

That forced the Spanish-entry to drop speeds by more than half to around 10 knots and all but ended their chances to become the first Spanish team ever to win the Volvo Ocean Race.

As Telefonica limped slowly towards France, Groupama took the lead and recorded their second leg win of this race in their home port.

The drama began on Thursday afternoon for Telefonica, after fixing the broken starboard rudder, they regained the lead of Leg 8 from Lisbon to Lorient.

As the expected wind shift arrived, late in the evening, Telefonica were the first to gybe, followed by Groupama.

Leading the fleet, and with less than 300 miles to Lorient, the Spanish boat landed awkwardly off a huge wave and suffered damage to the port rudder, as well as a breakage in the spare starboard rudder fitted as a replacement.

Telefonica led the overall standings in the Volvo Ocean Race for six months from late November through early June after surging to an early points lead.

But Groupama's victory in leg four ended that and became part of a stretch of five consecutive podium finishes in offshore legs for Groupama that catapulted them past Telefonica in the standings and into first on June 1 in Lisbon.

The fleet now has two in-port races and one offshore sprint left with a total of 42 points still up for grabs.