La Solitaire du Figaro-Eric Bompard

Deauville-Plymouth, 08.06.2014 -Übersicht

Thursday, June 05, 2014
Solitaire du Figaro – Eric Bompard cachemire:
Gwénolé Gahinet and the 37 Solitaires

On Sunday in Deauville, Gwénolé Gahinet will start on his first Solitaire du Figaro - Eric Bompard cachemire. For this 45th edition the event brings together 38 great competitors. The stars of the circuit, rookies, champions in the making and amateurs in one fleet and the winner will be crowned in early July after four legs and a month of racing. It is a great challenge for Gahinet, the Safran-Guy Cotten skipper, who will try to win the Bénéteau rookie ranking. Battle commences on Sunday, June 8 at 1300hrs (French time) with light airs forecast.

Gwénolé Gahinet
Foto: Jean-Marie Liot

All in the same boat watching the clock This is the essence of the Figaro Bénéteau tour: all the competitors sail on a 10.15-metre one-design. It means that in the race, only the sailor makes the difference. With coastal sprints and offshore legs in the Channel and the Atlantic, the Solitaire du Figaro - Eric Bompard cachemire is always a race against the clock and therefore is extremely demanding on the sailors. The margins are too small for just hoping to win the overall title, you have to make sure. In 2003, Armel Le Cléac'h snatched victory over Alain Gautier by just 13 seconds after a month of racing. That record highlights the intensity and complexity of this event where the Solitaires push their bodies and minds over four legs that this year will take them from Deauville to Cherbourg-Octeville via Plymouth, Roscoff and Les Sables d'Olonne. Gahinet has much to do but this challenge has been driving him for several years. He is finally about to discover what his Solitaire comrades call the queen of offshore races. Some serious contenders The undisputed favourites, Yann Eliès and Jérémie Beyou are both dreaming of their third crown. "They know the boat by heart but haven’t sailed a lot this year,” Gahinet said. “If they stay fit, then logic suggests they’ll be contendors.” Gahinet’s favourites in his heart are Paul Meilhat and Adrien Hardy: "Paul is in a good place, and he proved it again on the Le Havre Allmer Cup. I spent the last four months with him and he has a great mind. Adrien Hardy could also surprise people, he seems very fit too having seen him sail this winter in Lorient." Among the big names in the class are Erwan Tabarly, Thierry Chabagny and Gildas Morvan (19th participation). "All three of them are looking to comeback after their abandonment in the Transat AG2R La Mondiale and deserve to win after so many years on circuit,” Gahinet added. “As for Alain Gautier, I doff my cap to him, it's a great story to come back after ten years out of it. I think the Figaro is like riding a bike, you never forget how." An eclectic set of rookies One of Gahinet’s objectives is to win the Bénéteau rookie ranking, but it will not be an easy task with six rivals facing him, all with very different profiles. "Richard Mason, Sam Matson, Alan Roberts, the three Britons from the Artemis Offshore Academy, are all very well prepared,” Gahinet, the skipper of Safran-Guy Cotten, said. “They have done some dinghy racing, which should benefit them at the starts. However, they are not yet that experienced offshore. Sébastien Simon is getting better and better and is a serious contender. Clement Salzes is good all-round, but I don’t know enough about him. Finally, Gwen Gbick has little solo experience but, like me, he learned about how the boat works during the Transat AG2R he did with Kito de Pavant. As a rookie, the hardest thing is the sleep management, but because of my years in the Mini 6.50, I have a slight advantage in this regard. For now, it’s the starts that I’m most apprehensive about. However, I saw that on the Le Havre Allmer Cup I was able to keep pace and had good speed, and that allowed me to catch up with my opponents on the longer coastal courses. I hope this bodes well for the Solitaire. Overall, we all have our chances, ranking will not be static and it will be very interesting." With three days to the start, the weather looks pretty mild for the first leg between Deauville and Plymouth. The start on Sunday at 1300hrs could even play out in a quite light north-easterly wind. The strong currents in the Bay of Seine will make it tricky for the 38 competitors, who will obviously be eager to show what they are capable of. Press contacts: Mille & Une Vagues? Mathilde Mermod Face 36 quai Alphonse Le Gallo 92100 BOULOGNE Tel : (33) 1 55 38 98 20? Mobile : (33) 6 22 93 36 81 International Sabina Mollart-Rogerson Mob: +44 (0)7922 140148 E-mail: safran@seaclearcommunications.com sabina@seaclearcommunications.com Blanca López Handrich Mob: +34 657 854 173 E-mail: blanca@seaclearcommunications.com This message was intended for: redaktion@segel.de Unsubscribe ¦ click here to report e-mail abuse.