Team Brunel opt for experienced winner to complete race crew

Laurent Pagès has been chosen by Team Brunel for the next Volvo Ocean Race © Ian Roman / Volvo Ocean Race

Experienced French sailor Laurent Pagès has been chosen by Team Brunel skipper Bouwe Bekking to complete his line-up for the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15.

Pagès brings a winning pedigree to the Dutch challengers after he helped guide Groupama to victory in the last edition in 2011-12. Additionally, he was watch captain in the Spanish team Telefónica Blue in 2008-09 where he sailed with Bekking.

"Sailing again around the world with such an experienced skipper is special to me, as my first Volvo experience was with Bouwe during the 2008-09 edition and this experience was a great one," said Pagès.

"It is a great pleasure to join the Team Brunel for the next Volvo Ocean Race. I appreciate the spirit of the team a lot. They are dedicated, friendly, and ambitious. On a personal side, this is a new challenge with a new team, a new boat and with the ambition of winning the Volvo Ocean Race."

Bekking was equally delighted to renew his partnership with Pagès onboard. "Laurent is a superb sailor with whom I raced successful for many years," he said.

"His technical skills, eye for details, a winner in several one design classes, and of course winning the last Volvo Ocean Race are a couple of ingredients as a skipper you only dream of. His character fits perfectly in with the rest of the guys, so I am really happy he will join us."

With the arrival of Pagès, Team Brunel's race crew is complete, though the team has yet to appoint an onboard reporter.

The race starts on October 4, 2014 with the Alicante in-port race and ends in Gothenburg on June 27, 2015 after visiting 11 countries in total and covering 38,739 nautical miles.

Confirmed crew for Team Brunel:

Bouwe Bekking, 51 (NED) - skipper
Gerd-Jan Poortman, 38 (NED)
Pablo Arrarte, 33 (ESP)
Jens Dolmer, 44 (DEN)
Andrew Cape, 52 (AUS)
Rokas Milevicius, 27 (LTU)
Louis Balcaen, 25 (BEL)
Laurent Pagès (FRA)