Volvo: Australian Tom Addis joins Telefonica Blue

11:04 AM Tue 9 Dec 2008 GMT

'Australian Tom Addis is to replace the injured Laurent Pages on Telefonica Blue (Photo: Maria Muina/Equipo Telefonica)' Volvo Ocean Race &copy

Telefonica Blue have confirmed that a shoulder injury will prevent Laurent Pages from taking his place onboard for the leg three race to Singapore. The Frenchman suffered an intraosseous contusion in his left shoulder when he was smashed into the wheel by a big wave just three days into the second leg.

Upon arriving in Cochin skipper Bouwe Bekking could not rule-out the 32-year-old, but, having been examined by team doctor Cristina Perez, Pages will now be replaced by Tom Addis, who had been employed as a meteorologist with Telefonica.

'Unfortunately the injury means that Laurent won't be with us for this stage,' said co-skipper Iker Martinez today. 'Tom is already part of the team, and has worked with us for months as a meteorologist. We know each other well, we all know how we work together as a team and he knows the boat well as he has trained with us frequently since Alicante.'

The team is yet to reveal when Pages will be fit enough to return, but Martinez has confidence in his new recruit.

Australia's Addis, 38, was part of Team New Zealand in the 32nd America's Cup held in Valencia and he regularly sails on the Maxi Alfa Romeo.

'We've known him for months and I'm sure that he'll bring as much to the boat as a crewmember as he has as a meteorologist onshore,' said Martinez.

The boat, meanwhile, was returned to the water on Monday afternoon and final preparations are expected to be completed by Friday, a day before the fleet begins the 1,950-nautical mile trip to Singapore.

Martinez said the sailing team had been working hard in an effort to recover for the third stage of the race.

'We've rested a bit and we've been out seeing the area, but we've been trying to keep up the gym sessions because they're very necessary to physically recover well after each leg, because you lose a lot of mobility in your legs,' he said.

'We're approaching this India-Singapore leg in a similar way to how we approached the others. The only thing that changes really is that there are fewer miles and the fact that light breeze is expected means that might affect aspects such as weight etc which become more important. We'll be looking to be as light as possible, and we'll be working hard at that as it could give us an edge speed-wise.'

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by Volvo Ocean Race Media

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Volvo: Australian Tom Addis joins Telefonica Blue

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