Brits consistent but Alinghi steals show again as the curtain comes down on the iShares Cup spectacle in the Solent

Alinghi showed the fruits of their multihull training schedule again today by snatching a second overall victory in a row on the iShares Cup circuit. But with their second place finish over the four days at Cowes, Team Origin still remain overall leaders, with the Greenhalgh brothers retaining enough points to hold off the increasingly polished crews on Alinghi and the BMW Oracle boats. Team Holmatro got their first podium finish, prospering from today’s blustery, reefed-down conditions – their third overall also promotes them to third in the year’s standings. ‘It’s very difficult to compete against the America’s Cup crews (Alinghi and BMW oracle), who have already had 100 days training together,’ Holmatro’s skipper Andreas Hagara told us, who leaves tomorrow for the Olympics where he’ll be training the US Tornado team. Meanwhile Ed Baird and his Alinghi teammates will take comfort in another notch against Spithill’s BMW Oracle team, as the Americas Cup boys continue their multihull training run.