It was a long shot four months ago, but now Peter Burling and Team Brunel are one leg away from claiming the Volvo Ocean Race after claiming the penultimate sector of the global race this afternoon.
Team Brunel pipped fellow Kiwi sailor Blair Tuke and Spanish entry MAPFRE by one minute and 55 seconds to cross the Gothenburg finish line.
In doing so, Team Brunel and MAPFRE are now tied on the overall points scoreboard heading into the final leg on 65 points.
To make matters even more dramatic, Dongfeng Race Team technically sit behind them in second on 64 points but are guaranteed a bonus point for best elapsed time, meaning the Chinese entry is effectively tied for first as well.
Burling said he was just happy they have given themselves a chance to win.
"We knew we still had a theoretical chance," Burling said.
"I think a lot of us didn't think it would be that great but we managed to put together four good legs in a row.
"To be able to claw MAPFRE down after making a few mistakes in the middle of that leg to now have it all on the line for the last line is probably something a lot of us didn't think was achievable in Auckland but it shows we've turned it around as a team."
Over the last four stages since departing Auckland, Brunel has won legs 7,9 and 10 with 7 and 9 proving the game-changers due to them offering double points. MAPFRE on the other hand struggled, finishing fifth on both occasions.
The final storyline sailing fans can add to this complex finish will be the fact both Burling and Tuke have a chance to achieve one of the rarest triple crowns in sport - an Olympic Gold, the America's Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race.
The final leg will be an all-out sprint to the finish with the fleet leaving Gothenburg for the Hague in the Netherlands late next week on a route that covers just 700 nautical miles (1296km), making it the shortest leg of the race.
Standings after leg 10 of the Volvo Ocean Race
1. MAPFRE - 65
2. Team Brunel - 65
3. DongFeng Race Team - 64*
4. AkzoNobel - 53
5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing - 38
6. Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag - 30
7. Turn the tide on Plastic - 29
(* - DongFeng Race Team will have a point added for best elapsed time at the end of the next leg.)
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