This time, we know the full list of competitors involved. The names of the 40 skippers (7 more than in 2020, in the last edition) of the Vendée Globe 2024 were made official by the organization, this Tuesday, July 2, during a press conference given at the Vendée department hotel, in La Roche-sur-Yon.
The selection cycle of competitors having been completed at the end of the New York – Vendée, 39 competitors, already selected after having fulfilled the criteria of the qualification process, were simply to be made official. But an unknown remained on the side of the allocation of the Wild Card, offering the 40th and last place on the starting line of this 10th edition. A last ticket granted at the discretion of the president of the Saem Vendée, Alain Leboeuf.
Oliver Heer gets the precious sesame
Only two candidates, the Swiss Oliver Heer and the British James Harayda, were eligible. The first is credited with 12,723 miles against 12,402 for the second. But other selection criteria could also tip the balance, such as the solidity of the project, the experience of the skipper, or his results in the qualifying races. It was finally the Swiss Oliver Heer who was selected to complete the grid.
The bonus for miles traveled
“We will respect the law of sport and the miles covered,” argued the president of the Vendée Globe. However, the Briton who was not selected seemed to meet more criteria than his Swiss competitor, who was notably targeted by the jury of The Transat for suspected assistance during the race between Lorient and New York (he explained in the Swiss newspaper Le Temps that he had called his mental trainer on the phone when he was in difficulty).
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For his part, Finistérien François Guiffant also recently appeared in the ranking of the miles, the Saem had specified that he could not be selected if, at the end of the selection process, 39 competitors had already been selected. Indeed, the skipper from Guilvinec sails on a 2004 boat, not authorized by the selection rules. He still had a little hope, after having checked, since the Route du Rhum 2022, all the boxes of the qualification requirements to be selected. Note that in the event of failure of one or two teams, some skippers could be drafted before the start.
