LORIENT, France — Two sailors from Alinghi's America's Cup crew were airlifted to a hospital today after their boat capsized during a training session.

Crewmen Piet van Niekerk and Francesco Rapetti escaped serious injury after the 60-foot trimaran capsized off of the French port city of Lorient, Alinghi said in a statement.

The remaining sailors hung on in the Brittany coast's turbulent waters before being rescued.

Alinghi said the crew was "shaken, but not hurt."

"As we were bearing away ... both the leeward and the central hull dug into the water and the rudders came out," America's Cup winning skipper Ed Baird said. "From then it was out of our hands and we capsized forward."

Alinghi began training aboard skipper Alain Gautier's Foncia boat Wednesday in preparation for a multihull match race against BMW Oracle Racing. Gautier, an accomplished sailor, is training Alinghi sailors and designers about the basic functions of trimarans.

Next week, a judge will decide when the best-of-three race for the America's Cup will be held following a drawn-out legal battle that began weeks after Alinghi beat Team New Zealand for the 32nd America's Cup in July.