Emirates Team New Zealand have retained third place in the Extreme Sailing Series despite finishing middle of the field at the latest event in Nice, France.
Alinghi will go into the final event of the series in Sydney with an eight-point leading margin over second-placed team The Wave, after the Swiss team were victorious once again.
Only four days of racing remain this year with five teams - Alinghi, The Wave, Muscat, Emirates Team New Zealand, Realteam and J.P. Morgan BAR - capable of a top-three position.
The breeze was light at the start of the final day in Nice but a threatening thunderstorm caused the breeze to build big shifts across the course. The boats were flying hulls for the last couple of races.
Emirates Team New Zealand finished the Nice event in fifth place out of the 11 boats, enough to hold third spot in the series.
