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Tour de France à la Voile 2013

Nicolas Troussel wins the offshore leg from Brest to Lorient thanks to a risky tactical decision

Saturday 13 July 2013Information Tour Voile

All the versions of this article: [English] [français]

The fleet left Brest Brest #brest yesterday at 8:00pm, sailing in 10 to 15 knots of northeaster wind. All 12 M34s gybed through the Toulinguet rocks under spinnakers. Once they rounded Sein Island they hardened up and reached the Glénan archipelago in the night. It was a complicated ride with crew constantly switching between the jib and the fractional kite.

Judgement comes at dawn with the Jument mark: Courrier Dunkerque 3 was in the lead ahead of Sodebo and Nantes St Nazaire E.Leclerc. Bretagne Crédit Mutuel Elite, who was over the line early in Brest Brest #brest , was in 8th.

And then the final upwind tacking battle began. Nicolas Troussel and his Bretagne team decided not to follow the eastern route with the rest of the fleet and dove south. “We picked another route,” explains the skipper. “We were not very well placed at that time and we believed in our option.”

Bretagne Credit Mutual Elite was in the right place when the wind shifted to the right and they eventually crossed back ahead of the fleet, clear in the lead. Sodebo takes second, Groupama 34 third and Courrier Dunkerque 3 fourth. Team OmanSail takes fifth ahead of Nantes St Nazaire, who has been leading most of the leg. Normandie, 7th, is the first amateur and can keep the amateur pink spinnaker.

The gap between Groupama 34 and Bretagne Crédit Mutuel is closing overall with 31 points between both teams. Sodebo is now third overall.

Tomorrow the fleet will sail around the isle of Groix for 25 miles (scoring factor of 2). Departure time from the dock: 9:00am, starting time: 11:00am. Vendée Globe sailors Jean-Pierre Dick will sail onboard Martinique BE Brussels.

Interviews

Nicolas Troussel, Bretagne Crédit Mutuel Elite skipper:

“We took an option right after rounding the southern Glénan mark and went another direction than the other ones. I’m not responsible for it: it’s all Jeremy (Beyou) and Christopher (Pratt) fault! We believed in our option and it paid back. Very happy we won the leg – especially as it finishes in Brittany.”

Thomas Coville, Sodebo skipper:

“A great fight. We would have never taken that route, but Nicolas is famous for being able to take those kinds of risks. We thought we were leading ahead of Courrier Dunkerque and Groupama this morning – it wasn’t a pleasant surprise to see Crédit Mutuel crossing four lengths ahead of us thanks to a risky decision. That’s what the game is about: they believed in it and they gave it a try. Well done!”


Classement général provisoire après 18 courses, avant jury :

  • 1 GROUPAMA 34, CAMMAS Franck 719 pts - Spi Bleu
  • 2 BRETAGNE CREDIT MUTUEL ELITE, TROUSSEL Nicolas 688 pts
  • 3 SODEBO, COVILLE Thomas 671,8 pts
  • 4 COURRIER DUNKERQUE 3, SOUBEN Daniel 670 pts
  • 5 TEAM OMANSAIL, POULIGNY Cédric 637 pts
  • 6 TOULON PROVENCE MEDITERRANEE - COYCH, BERNAZ Jean-Baptiste 574 pts
  • 7 VILLE DE GENEVE - CARREFOUR ADDICTIONS, METTRAUX Elodie-Jane et GROUX Nicolas 560 pts
  • 8 NANTES - SAINT NAZAIRE - E.LECLERC, DOUGUET Corentin 560 pts
  • 9 NORMANDIE, CHOQUENET Baptiste 521 pts
  • 10 MARTINIQUE - BE.BRUSSELS, WOLTERS Delphine et MOURES Matthieu 488 pts
  • 11 ISKAREEN, DITTMERS Christiane et BRUHNS Sönke 483 pts
  • 12 BIENNE - VOILE – SRS, PETER Luzius et KUNZ François 455 pts


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