Manhandled for three months, the bodies of Vendée Globe sailors are subject to significant changes around the world. To avoid being “shattered” during the crossing, some skippers rely on being in rock-solid physical condition. “I focused my preparation on the man, it's cheaper than changing the boat”, laughs the navigator Maxime Sorel (V and B – Monbana – Mayenne) who will set off on November 10 from Les Sables-d' Olonne for his 2nd solo world tour (10th in 2020).
A civil engineer by training, this 38-year-old sailor, a thrill-seeker, has devoted a significant part of his time since his last attempt to improving his resistance to exercise to “keep his mind clear, even in the difficulty”. Climbed to the summit of Everest in 2023, he has also participated in numerous trails, including the demanding CCC (100 km for 6,050 meters of elevation gain) this summer, one of the UTMB races linking Courmayeur in Italy to Chamonix . “We experience difficult things on the boat, but as long as your body is well, everything is easier,” summarizes the Malouin, arriving in the Vendée village with a fully equipped motorhome provided by 321 Perform, often used by the pilot of F1 Esteban Ocon.
Weight loss, an inevitable reality
Muscle strengthening, rowing, cycling, infrared sauna: Sorel spends nearly three hours a day training since the village opened on October 18 to “optimize his form and energy as much as possible” before departure.
Stressed by the danger and the challenges of the race, in a permanent sleep deficit and shaken by increasingly violent shocks, the sailors of the Vendée Globe experience three “hyper-traumatic” months for the body. “After two weeks, I must have already lost between 4 and 5 kilos in the last edition,” remembers Maxime Sorel, who hopes to gain a little weight by the time the gun goes off to build up energy reserves sufficient. “You need good preparation, because there is inevitably a big loss of muscle mass during the race,” explains Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa), one of the favorites at the start, a calm sailor with the physique of a rugby player.
During a normal day around the world, a sailor can spend “between 7 and 20 hours” in front of his computer, according to him: a very sedentary lifestyle, reinforced by the lack of space in increasingly closed cockpits. .
© Laurent Theillet / IMOCA
The importance of physical versatility
“You have no other place to rest. I have improved my core a lot to handle the waves and avoid back pain. And I have a list of exercises to do during the lulls to stay in shape “, says Richomme, who works with a coach.
At 23, Violette Dorange (Devenir) has chosen to focus her physical preparation on pleasure and variety to face the roaring forties and the screaming fiftieths.
Hiking, surfing, jogging, racket sports, she has scheduled five sessions per week for several months, in addition to her sailing. “In my opinion, you have to be good everywhere, have cardio, endurance, muscles,” says the youngest of the starters. But even with good training and an iron will, “we will inevitably all be shattered at the finish”, predicts the British Samantha Davies (Initiatives Coeur), who is starting for the fourth time at the age of 50. A great sportswoman, a fan of swimming, surfing and pilates, she took “several months” to recover from her last trip around the world, which ended outside the race in 2021. “It’s a unique event, and it’s precisely That’s what pushes us to go back.”
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