For two weeks, Yoann Richomme and Charlie Dalin have been engaged in an intense battle in the Vendée Globe. On land, the teams also experience this duel. “There is the usual aspect when you are racing of looking at the rankings, gritting your teeth and crossing your fingers that things go well,” says Romain Ménard, team manager of Paprec Arkéa, who continues: “ And there is the situation at the moment, which is particularly exciting. We are still experiencing something quite incredible. At the Horn, we were waiting for the message from the race director to tell us that Yoann had crossed it then the message from Yoann to tell us if he had taken the lead or if he saw Charlie.
Jean-Luc Nélias, team manager of Macif Santé Prévoyance, adds: “The days follow one another and are a bit similar. It’s been 45 days since the Vendée Globe started and we have to keep it going for another twenty days.”
“If the boats are side to side, I only run one routing”
Obviously, this duel also adds pressure on the ground. “When the two boats are side to side, I only run one route because the outcome will be the same (laughs). When there is a gap, we look at the boat in front or behind to see if there is a risk of being dropped or caught up…”, specifies Jean-Luc Nélias.
At Paprec Arkéa, in Lorient, there is a little ritual every Tuesday: “Everyone meets at the office. It allows us to see each other, look at the map, make routings together… everyone speculates,” says Romain Ménard who was a little frustrated by the passage of the Horn: “It was half past midnight. Concretely, I didn’t want to go to bed, I wanted to know. I stayed alone on my couch waiting, looking at my phone. You don’t have the furious stadium shouting: “Go Yoann or Go Paprec Arkéa!” » ».
“They must meet each other at the supermarket or at the bistro”
There are still around twenty days of racing left and everyone knows that nothing is decided. “I have a very good friend who happens to be the Boat Captain of Macif Santé Prévoyance (Jean-Yves Gau) and I sent him exactly: “Are you okay, is your pacemaker holding up?” “, jokes the Richomme Team Manager.
Jean-Luc Nélias, based in Quimper, doesn’t meet anyone but he knows that “three quarters of the guys who are on standby are in Lorient and must meet the Paprec team at the supermarket or bistro with whom they have to exchange two, three words “. The respect between these two teams is great. “They both have boats that are a little damaged with fatigue and wear. There may be upheavals. And then the strategy, the tactics, the specific capabilities of each boat… We are a little tense all the same because the situation means that we can win or lose the Vendée Globe. It adds pathos to this story,” added Jean-Luc Nélias, who remains cautious.
“There are moves to be made”
Romain Ménard continued: “This is a time when the boats will be maneuvering more and this is sometimes when the equipment is in greater demand even if there is a little less wind in the South. We know it’s long, that there are moves to be made.”
The skippers like the teams will therefore remain vigilant: “It’s a great race but objectively, when you see Yoann taking 500 miles while he is next to Thomas Ruyant, it’s not a big deal since Thomas is now 1,500 miles behind! There is great respect for the other teams who worked as hard as us. We are on our roadmap but we are also aware that we must remain humble.”
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