A British team, led by GBR Challenge tactician Adrian Stead, is expected to compete against other national crews from Europe in a new round-Europe race, starting in Italy in 2004.

The biennial event, Europrix, will be open to teams from all European countries who will race in identical Europrix 45 racing boats, decked out in the respective national colours.

Starting and stopover ports for 2004 will each support an individual Europrix before the final event in Sweden on Midsummer's Night. Ports in Spain, Portugal, France, Britain and Germany will host stopovers and there will be a total of seven pit stops, with calls at other European countries en-route planned.

Stead, currently in Auckland, said: "Europrix 2004 is an exciting prospect which brings together the challenges of offshore and inshore racing. It gives each country's elite of yachting the chance to race against the rest of Europe."

Around 20 per cent of each crew will be made up of young sailors, aged under 23, giving the event an important niche in a calendar of events which is currently geared to more experienced professional sailors.