COCHIN, India — Ericsson 4, skippered by five time Olympic medalist Torben Grael of Brazil, made it two wins in a row by taking the second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race from Capetown to Cochin, opening a seven-point lead over its nearest rival Telefonica Blue.

However, Grael — whose team broke the world 24-hour record for a monohull yacht in the first leg from Alicante, Spain to Capetown, South Africa — played down his team's apparent superiority.

"This race is a long way from over," he said on the race Web site after his team's arrival Sunday evening. "I do not see ourselves as the team to beat at all."

"The second leg is the beginning of the race and there is a lot of racing to go. We have worked very hard to get where we are, but the other teams are all capable of getting results," Grael said.

Telefonica Blue was second and Ericsson 4's sister yacht, Ericsson 3, finished third.

Ericsson 4 has an overall score of 26 points and Telefonica Blue is on 19 points, followed by Ericsson 3 in third place on 14.5.

The Volvo Ocean race started in Alicante and ends in St. Petersburg, Russia in June 2009 after 10 legs that take the fleet around the world and six in-port regattas.

For the first time in its 35-year history, the race has included Asia on its itinerary.

The traditional second leg from Cape Town to Australia or New Zealand — a journey characterized by howling storms, fierce seas and biting cold — was dropped for a new 4,450 mile journey to the Indian port of Cochin.

On the Net: www.volvooceanrace.org