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Ericsson 4 tightened its grip on the Volvo Ocean Race as it reached Galway in Ireland ahead of the field after a gruelling transatlantic crossing.

Victory in the seventh stage of the round-the-world challenge, one of yachting's most prestigious events, gives the Swedish entry clear breathing space with only three legs to go.

Skippered by Brazil's two-times Olympic gold medallist Torben Grael, the boat arrived at two o'clock in the morning to a raucous Irish welcome with thousands cramming the Galway docks.

"It's nice to get first place. It's another big step towards our goal, so we're pretty happy about it," Grael said before adding: "But it was hard."

Ericsson 4, the pre-race favourite, completed the 2,550-mile course in seven days, seven hours and 33 minutes, just over an hour ahead of its nearest rival, the American-owned yacht Puma Ocean Racing.

Sino-Irish entry Green Dragon drew the loudest cheers when it pulled in third.

Saturday night's celebrations in Galway had been fuelled by Irish club Leinster's win in rugby's Heineken Cup.

"They know how to put on a good show in Ireland," Ericsson 4 crew-member Jules Salter said. "And this is just brilliant."

The eight points for the leg win puts the Swedish yacht 14.5 points clear of its nearest rival, Spain's Telefonica Blue, which finished fourth in Galway.

The Volvo Ocean Race, which began in Alicante, Spain in October, is to conclude in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in June after nine months negotiating 10 stages over 37,000 nautical miles.

The eighth stage will take the teams from Galway to Marstrand in Sweden and gets underway on June 6, after an in-port race on May 30.

The event was called the Whitbread Round the World Race until 1998.

Stage 7 results:

1. Ericsson 4 8.0 points

2. Puma Ocean Racing 7.0

3. Green Dragon 6.0

4. Telefonica Blue 5.0

5. Delta Lloyd 4.0

6. Telefonica Black 3.0

7. Ericsson 3 2.0

Overall standings:

1. Ericsson 4 (SWE)/Torben Grael (BRA) 92.0 points

2. Telefonica Blue (ESP)/Bouwe Bekking (NED) 77.5

3. Puma Ocean Racing (USA)/Ken Read (USA) 76.0

4. Ericsson 3 (SWE)/Magnus Olsson (SWE) 58.0

5. Green Dragon (CHN/EIR)/Ian Walker (GBR) 52.0

6. Telefonica Black (ESP)/Fernando Echavarri (ESP) 33.0

7. Delta Lloyd (NED)/Roberto Bermudez (ESP) 25.5

8. Team Russia (RUS)/Andreas Hanakamp (AUT) 10.5 (provisionally withdrawn from the race)

AFP