Vendée Globe leader Charlie Dalin and his runner-up Yoann Richomme have passed the Doldrums and started their final sprint towards Vendée. Richomme is almost 100 miles behind Dalin.
The Norman Charlie Dalin and his runner-up Yoann Richomme put the dreaded Pot-au-Noir behind them on Monday before beginning their final sprint towards Les Sables-d'Olonne to win the 10th Vendée Globe. At 7:00 p.m. (GMT+1), Richomme (Paprec Arkéa) was 100 miles behind leader Dalin (Macif Santé Prévoyance) and victory was logically going to be decided between these two sailors, expected between January 14 and 15 in Vendée. Behind them, the courageous Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil), orphaned from his starboard foil for several weeks, was around 700 miles from Charlie Dalin and was due to cross the equator during the day on Tuesday.
“It’s quite intense, the pressure is constant but it’s part of the game. All the sailors who come to the Vendée Globe with sporting ambitions would dream of being in our place,” the race leader told the organizers. “I have a lot of fun, I have more detachment and less pressure than four years ago”continued Dalin, 2nd in the 2020-21 edition. Further south, the battle is still raging from 4th to 10th place, and Justine Mettraux (9th) did the right thing in recent hours by gaining a position. Two more sailors passed Cape Horn during the day, Giancarlo Pedote (Prysmian) and Isabelle Joschke (MACFS), respectively 18th and 19th. The defending champion, Yannick Bestaven, returned to sea outside the race, after an elimination stopover in Ushuaia to repair several damages.
Ranking for the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe Monday at 7:00 p.m. (GMT+1):
1. Charlie Dalin (Macif Santé Prévoyance) 2,785.98 miles from the finish
2. Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa) 98.69 miles from the first
3. Sébastien Simon (Dubreuil Group) at 682.41 mins
4. Jérémie Beyou (Charal) at 2,038.62 mins
5. Thomas Rettant (Vulnerable) at 2,047.76 mins
6. Sam Goodchild (Vulnerable) at 2,057.86 mins
7. Boris Herrmann (Malizia – Seaexplorer) at 2,066.48 mins
8. Paul Meilhat (Biotherm) at 2,110.75 mins
9. Justine Mettraux (TeamWork – Team Snef) at 2,123.87 mins
10. Nicolas Lunven (Holcim – PRB) at 2,150.55 mins
…
35. Denis Van Weynbergh (D'Ieteren Group) at 8,038.56 mn
Abandons:
. Pip Hare (Medallia)
. Yannick Bestaven (Maître Coq V)
. Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée)
. Maxime Sorel (V and B – Monbana – Mayenne)
. Szabolcs Weöres (New Europe)
