Originally a member of Luna Rossa Challenge for the 2017 America's Cup, Tienpont joined Team Japan for the 2017 Louis Vuitton Challenger’s Trophy after Luna Rossa withdrew. For the 2017–18 Volvo Ocean Race, Tienpont was announced skipper of "Team AkzoNobel". However, on October 13, the day before the first scoring race, it was announced that, due to a breach of contract by his company, STEAM Racing, Tienpont's contract as skipper was terminated by Team AkzoNobel. The decision was reversed, and Tienpont was once again announced as skipper of Team AkzoNobel less than two hours before the start of leg 1 of the 2017–18 Volvo Ocean Race.