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Knife-edge decisions, adrenaline rushes, extreme weather, bitter rivalries, heart-stopping races - they are all in a day’s work for sailing’s superman’ Ben Ainslie. Ben has won successive golds in the last three Olympics, making him a British hero and our greatest Olympic sailor ever. In 2012 he plans to bid for a fourth.

In Close to the Wind Ben reveals the truth behind his awesome achievement. A charming spokesperson off the water, he reveals just how ruthless he is on it. He admits to fierce rivalries, above all with Brazilian Robert Scheidt, who robbed a nineteen-year-old Ben of gold in his first Olympics.

Ben’s twenty-year sailing career, which began on a dinghy in a remote Cornish bay, has a scope unmatched by other sports. In Olympic races he is alone, in his tiny boat, channelling aggression and plotting tactics. Ben’s recent forays into the America’s Cup are a complete contrast. As a helmsman for the Cup - sailing’s glamorous, lucrative Formula One-equivalent, Ben can only succeed by Precision team-work.

From his proudest moment representing Team GB, to one tough decision that almost risked destroying his career, this is a unique insight into the man who cannot be second best. It shows what really takes place in the white heat of competition and lifts the lid on this toughest of sports.

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