Organisers announced the route for the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 Race in Alicante, Spain, on Wednesday

SOUNDBITE: (English) Mark Turner, Volvo Ocean Race CEO:

"It's a real milestone in the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 edition today. We've got an amazing race track, I think probably one of the best we've had in years. Two big new elements that we've announced today really compared with any previous edition. A return to our routes, back to the Southern Ocean in a big, big way, three times as many Southern Ocean miles as we did in either of the last two editions, big monster leg from Cape Town up to Hong Kong, which will really test the guys to absolute maximum, an extra stopover at Guangzhou in mainland China, which is a key addition to the event, and a whole load of new sprint legs, one at the beginning, Alicante to Lisbon and a very intense finish at the end back in Europe so all in all I think pointing the race perhaps closer to its roots as I say back to that legacy and energy and adventure of the past, but at the same time from a sporting perspective, I think it will be harder than ever to win this next edition of Volvo Ocean Race."