the Dalin-Richomme duel is in full swing at the head, troubles for Rettant

the Dalin-Richomme duel is in full swing at the head, troubles for Rettant
the Dalin-Richomme duel is in full swing at the head, troubles for Rettant

Charlie Dalin and Yoann Richomme are still leading the way while at the back an iceberg has frightened the skippers.

In a race slowed down by capricious winds, Charlie Dalin remains at the head of the Vendée Globe on Thursday evening, closely followed by Yoann Richomme in their journey up the Atlantic, far ahead of certain competitors tensed by the appearance of an iceberg in the Pacific.

During the day, Dalin maintained his lead over Richomme, which was around 35 miles at the 7:00 p.m. check-in. The mano a mano continues off the coast of Brazil while the first two hope to finally benefit from the trade winds to accelerate towards the equator. The leaders are expected there in three to four days. Further south, Thomas Ruyant (Vulnerable), 4th, reported at the end of the afternoon the loss of an important headsail caused by a violent and sudden squall.

«The J2 is destroyed… I've never had anything like this. There were 20 knots, it went up suddenly. It went into tornado mode. It lasted 2 hours, with 45 to 60 knots!», lamented the , already the victim of damage to his mainsail a few days ago.

Iceberg in rear view

Far behind, in the peloton sailing towards Cape Horn, the skippers must negotiate with the visit of an iceberg, escaped from the ice zone prohibited to competitors. “It’s scary, we’re not being smart,” whispered Eric Béllion, 23rd in the solo race around the world. “I remind you that my case is 3.6 mm thick, I can't afford to type that. Icebergs are beautiful with expedition boats equipped with steel hulls but not with our carbon racing boats.»

Before him, Sébastien Marsset, 22nd, was the first to see the iceberg and began a ““Frankly, it blows my mind, I was going straight for it! This iceberg had therefore ultimately not drifted towards the North at all, but due East, so I was at the same latitude as it, and I found myself… facing it!» Marsset maneuvered well to move away and continue on his way. He can nowtake a breath» even if another ice monster was announced a little further to the East. “The year 2025 is starting off very intensely, and I saw an iceberg for the first time in my life!“, he concluded.

Ranking Thursday at 7:00 p.m. (GMT+1):

1. Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) 4,269.18 miles from the finish

2. Yoann Richomme (PAPREC ARKÉA) 34.25 miles from the first

3. Sébastien Simon (Dubreuil Group) 348.75

4. Thomas Ruyant (VULNERABLE) 1.353,84

5. Paul Meilhat (Biotherm) 1.526,8

6. Nicolas Lunven (HOLCIM – PRB) 1,616.89

7. Jérémie Beyou (Charal) 1,662.71

8. Sam Goodchild (VULNERABLE) 1.697,43

9. Boris Herrmann (Malizia – Seaexplorer) 1.720,18

10. Justine Mettraux (TeamWork – Team Snef) 1,789.62

Abandons:

. Pip Hare (Medallia)

. Yannick Bestaven (Maître CoQ V)

. Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée)

. Maxime Sorel (V and B – Monbana – Mayenne)

. Szabolcs Weöres (New Europe)

be-fd/bdu

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