Sailing: Greenhalgh's broadside for French organisers

The last lap of the Tour de France à la Voile sees the trio of Britons arriving in Nice today in mixed mood, some with something to celebrate, others determined to make a better show next time, and complaints about the French organisers being less than assiduous at times about telling their visitors what was happening.

It is not quite like the glory days of 2000, when Britain was first and third, as the 2002 professional entry, Panther GBR, skippered by Rob Greenhalgh, has struggled at times. But they are holding a solid fourth going into the final stages, though they are not optimistic about breaking into a podium place at the last.

The amateurs from the Royal Thames Yacht Club, skippered by Owen Modral, went one better to be third, while the Anglo-Australian student team led by Simon Sutherland, with Sam Stevens of Plymouth as navigator, carried all before them to win their division by a thumping margin.

The top three places, with nine points separating Etienne David, of Switzerland, and two Frenchmen, Pierre-Loic Berthet and Jimmy Pahun, may not be decided until the final day tomorrow.

The event, sailed by 40 teams in three divisions in identical Mumm 30s, began four weeks ago in Dunkirk and first took the fleet down the Channel and Atlantic coast of west France. The show was then put on trailers to start the Mediterranean section just north of the eastern Spanish border in St Cyprien.

"We would like to do this again," said Greenhalgh, "and we are already planning to be back next year. You couldn't ask for better racing, it is really hot inshore, very close offshore.

"The hardest parts are the logistics of moving the support team ashore and the fact that the French are not always very forthcoming with the foreign teams."

With Britain's 2000 Laser gold medallist swapping first and second places with the 1996 gold medallist Mateusz Kusnierewicz in the fifth and sixth races of the Finn Gold Cup off Athens, Ben Ainslie maintains a 17-point overall lead over the Pole with three races remaining.

Emilios Papathanasiou, of Greece, is one point behind Kusnierewicz. The top five qualify their countries for the 2004 Games.