Thursday, 19th August 2010
Solitaire du Figaro:
Armel le Cleac’h, François Gabart, Corentin Douguet the winning trio
On Wednesday 18th August at 21.15.24, Armel Le Cléac’h crossed the
finish line of Leg 4 placed in the Bay of Cherbourg. It took to Brit
Air’s 54 hours, 30 minutes and 24 seconds to cover the 435 miles of
the last lap at an average speed of 7.98 knots. This summer le
Cleac’h proved to be the man of all records. At 33 years of age he
conquers this 41st edition after having heavily dominated the race
with 3 leg wins and enters the very selected club of double winners,
thanks to his first victory back in 2003. François Gabart (Skipper
Macif 2010) jumps on the second step of the podium after a very
consistent race and Corentin Douguet (E.Leclerc Mobile) gets an
unexpected, but still well deserved, bronze medal.
Armel the master - From Le Havre to Cherbourg, sailing to Gijón, Brest
and Kinsale, Le Cleac’h showed exceptional speed and focus, he was
clearly in harmony with himself an his boat, in control of his
strategy. This was his karma and his Solitaire, probably more than it
was in 2003, when he first won with and historical lead of only 13
seconds on Alain Gautier. If it weren’t for a minor mistake on the
third leg to Kinsale he could have easily got a clear score. He
“only” achieved three, which is already an outstanding performance.
At his young age the skipper from Morlaix has already five leg wins
and two overall victories in his cv, and he only raced his first
Solitaire in 2000. He officially enters in the very selected group of
skippers who won the race twice along with his longtime friend Nicolas
Troussel and famous sailors such as Jean-Marie Vidal, Gilles Gahinet,
Guy Cornou and Gilles Le Baud from the seventies and eighties. Called
”Mémel” by his friends and “the Jackal” by his adversaries
he’s become by all mean one of the single handed offshore sailing
celebrities, with his second place in the last Vendée Globe and two
wins in the Transat AG2R, as confirmed by today’s brilliant
performance.
By finishing in third place François Gabart obtained a second place
overall. Only 27 years old, he already took part three times to the
Solitaire but this year confirmed to be come of age and a
determination as strong as his older colleagues’. With his pale blue
eyes and crop of blond hair, his good humour and excellent
communication skills he will surely reindexs as one of the leading
characters of the 2010 Solitaire du Figaro.
Corentin Douguet’s performance is no less impressive, by believing in
his chances to be among the best ones, sailing cleanly and thanks to a
clever race strategy he built his success. In the last and decisive
leg he never left Le Cleac’h tracks and succeeded in getting in
second in Cherbourg and third overall.
As for the non French skippers, Italian Pietro D’Alì on I.NOVA.3
finally took his revenge for a pretty unlucky and disappointing 2010
Solitaire. While on the previous legs he never had the chance to show
his full potential, over the 435 miles from Kinsale to Cherbourg,
Pietrino as his friends call him, was constantly in the leading pack
and crossed the line in sixth. A result that not only pays him back
from a rather unsatisfying race but allows him to go up in the
scoreboard, finishing in 24th.
Young newcomer Portoguese Francisco Lobato is surely someone to keep
an eye on for the future. Solid, technically very talented but mostly
very determined, he paid dearly a first disastrous leg and a lack of
experience. After having been among the leaders for two thirds of the
last leg he lost ground and finished in 25th and 36th overall. Franco/
German Isabelle Joschke got a 36th in the leg and a 31st overall while
Briton Jonny Malbon was last into Cherbourg and 39th overall after, he
too, suffered form a very unlucky second leg when his autopilot failed
and he had to steer constantly for more than two days to reach Brest.
Quotes form the winners:
Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit Air) winner of La Solitaire 2010
“I’m really proud. I can’t believe it, I won three legs a sixth
place in Ireland…Winning the Figaro like this it’s pure joy. I came
to take my revenge for last year’s bad performance, I wanted to sail
well on all the four legs. I was into the match and I somehow knew I
could make it. I feel I have learnt something on how to control the
race, to be in the lead. It’s hard when you have 44 adversaries
behind you, and all good ones! I managed to get in the lead, stay
there and win, on all the legs bar one. Cool! I felt terrific onboard,
the boat, the strategy all came easier than I thought. I enjoyed every
moment, even here at the raz Blanchard, Corentin (Douguet ed. note)
was not far but I wanted to get to the end and win this Figaro. Just
one year ago things were quite different, I think I’ve grown up… I
trained well and my shore team did a fantastic job. It’s been a long
time since I won an important race, this year it’s been the Transat
AG2R and the Solitaire. I will probably be feeling the exhaustion
soon. I’m exhilarated by many things, I’ve been thinking a lot
before the finish. My victory in 2003, the work done during winter,
the sailing in bad weather, when its’ cold. But you have to be well
trained and ready… I need to make a break now, I’ve pushed hard and
we had a bit of every condition: strong breeze, light air and it’s
tiring, haven’t slept much…
François Gabart (Skipper Macif 2010), second placed
“I’m a different man”
“I’m really proud and happy to be second behind Armel because he
made an incredible race. He is a notch above everyone, untouchable, I
would say. He’s really strong and this year he was so self confident.
I’ve made progress in every sector, speed wise, in the way I control
the race and sail the boat. It’s a nice feeling. I consider myself a
better sailor than last year, I’m a different man and I reckon that
if we made another leg I would be in it… I could make ten more and I
would enjoy all of them.” There were different conditions and I like
it that way. For me being second is like winning, really. When you
sail solo you need to be good at everything, you get better step-by-
step, onboard and ashore. It’s life, you grow up. I discovered more
about myself: my desire to be in the lead, to win, to learn. I’ve
been building this second place over the last four weeks. My aim was
to have at least one good leg this year but, after going on the podium
I told to myself, why not the overall? But until this morning I
wasn’t sure of anything…”
Corentin Douguet (E.Leclerc Mobile) Third placed
“What an astonishing leg ! Being second behind Armel this year feels
like being the first human. I’m super, super happy of my race,
getting to Cherbourg and seeing my sons. Third overall, if anyone
would have told me in Kinsale I would have laughed. I started to sail
well in the last leg, coming in in the top ten, is terrific. I loved
this Solitaire, I finished three legs in the top ten. I made some
mistakes in the second one, but I have no regrets at all. Only once I
thought I could catch up Armel, after Lizen Ven but I got stuck in the
seaweeds and the wind shifted… I called Armel on the VHF shortly
before the finish to congratulate him. His performance is simply
incredible, pity he missed one or he would have done the big slam
winning all four legs. This is my fifth Solitaire so I met five
winners but Armel’s victory is the most impressive of all. I’m
proud to be in the very selected club of those who beat him this year
in Kinsale. Bravo to François (Gabart ) too, he did a fantastic race.
As for me after a very good performance in 2007 (a leg win in La
Coruna and third overall ed. note) had two opaque seasons. But Douguet
is not dead! Beside the results, second in the leg and third overall,
I really, really enjoyed this race…”
Winning couple Le Cleac’h and Gabart congratulate each other upon
arriving in Cherbourg
Photo Credit: Courcoux-Marmara/Le Figaro
High resolution photographs for editorial use available upon request
Reminder of the key dates:
- LE HAVRE
Suzuki Prologue: Sunday 25th July
Start of the 1st leg: Tuesday 27th July
- GIJON (515 miles)
Start of the 2nd leg: Tuesday 3rd August
- BREST (385 miles)
Start of the 3rd leg: Monday 9th August
- KINSALE (349 miles)
Start of the 4th leg: Monday 16th August
- CHERBOURG-OCTEVILLE (435 miles)
Closing Parade: Sunday 22nd August
Carla Anselmi
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