Intro:

French skippers Francois Gabart and Armel Le Cleac'h remain locked in a tussle for the lead in the Vendee Globe round-the-world sailing marathon on Tuesday with just 1.2 nautical miles separating MACIF and Banque Populaire as they pass the Amsterdam Gate in the middle of the Southern Ocean on their way towards Australia.

Script:

After a month at sea Francois Gabart and MACIF edged ahead to take the lead of the Vendee Globe on Tuesday.

Gabart who was first to reach the Amsterdam Gate race checkpoint is now holding on to a 1.2 nautical mile (nm) lead over Armel Le Cleac'h and Banque Populaire as the pair head south to the next checkpoint.

The two have been tussling for the lead since Monday, but with more than 15,000 nm until the race finish back in France the winner is far from decided.

The next few days will now be a test for the skippers as they try to find the optimal gliding conditions.

Switzerland's Bernard Stamm broke a tooth on Monday and had to try a little dentistry on himself. Luckily he managed to sort the problem out while he battled with Alex Thomson and Hugo Boss for fourth place.