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Team SCA have become the first all-female crew in 25 years to win a leg of the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race.

The Swedish boat, skippered by Briton Sam Davies, won the eighth and penultimate 647-mile stage, from Lisbon to Lorient, by more than 48 minutes.

Team SCA are the only all-female crew in the current race, and the first to compete for 10 years.

With one leg of the seven-team race remaining, they are in sixth place, with

Briton Ian Walker skippers the Abu Dhabi crew, who have all but secured overall victory.

Their third place in the eighth leg took them eight points clear at the top of the standings and only a serious breach of the rules can now stop them winning.

Only four female crews have competed in the race's 41-year history, and Team SCA's victory was the first since Tracy Edwards' Maiden won two legs in 1989-90.

"It's going to be huge for us," said skipper Davies, whose winning time was three days 13 hours 11 minutes 11 seconds.

"We've had a mountain to climb to get here. The conditions might have been man breaking but they were not women breaking.

"It feels great to have held that lead in the conditions we had. It was not easy in the Bay of Biscay but I am proud of how we sailed.

"It was pretty violent onboard. We had a tough 36 hours across there. If I chose one leg to win it would be this one coming into Lorient, so I am doubly happy."

Team SCA are less experienced than their male rivals - just two of the crew have previously competed in the race - while their 12-woman team has three extra members compared with the male crews, a concession to the physicality of sailing's toughest race.

The race began in the Spanish city of Alicante in October, with teams visiting 11 ports in 11 countries across nine legs.