The big winner and his runner-up took turns on the Figaro TV set to tell their adventure and their duel.
They arrived one after the other, but not in the order of Sables-d’Olonne. Yoann Richomme, second in the Vendée Globe, was the first to sail towards the drafting of the Figarothis Monday at noon, followed by the winner, Charlie Dalin, this Tuesday at 8:15 a.m. The two men were able to decipher their exploit at length on the sets of Figaro TV before taking the time to discuss with the sailing specialists from the sailing department. sports. Rich exchanges with two great champions available, smiling and fulfilled, although exhausted after their duel around the world and their performance at the end of themselves.
Asked by Thibaut Gauthier about a possible “Vendée Blues”, a phenomenon he experienced four years ago after losing first place on the green carpet for 2 hours 30 minutes, Charlie Dalin said: « I don’t have it yet and I think the victory will help prevent it from happening. » Asked about the feelings he felt after we triumphed, Le Havre mentioned “ of the joy, pride », personal but « also the work of the team, who invested a lot and never counted their hours » so that his sailor can triumph in what constitutes both his « World Cup » and his « Olympic Games ».
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Charlie Dalin did not forget to recall what this Vendée Globe also represents for his wife, Perrine, and his son, Oscar: « It’s a strong family investment. During the race, there were stressful moments for them (…) I managed to have them regularly by video, I didn’t want to break the link. »
Radical choice
Asked to detail the reasons for its success, the skipper of the monohull Macif spoke about « technical and architectural choices for the design of the boat »of course « good team » and for the race itself, « of the storm in the Indian Ocean » which he chose not to bypass to the north, like his runner-up, Yoann Richomme. « Even if Yoann came back later, it was a decisive moment. I hesitated for a long time before making the decision, I changed my mind several times. And afterward, I no longer had the right to make mistakes, there was no plan B, no escape. In fact, at this point I’m racing this storm and no longer racing the rest of the fleet. »
A radical choice which will pay off and which confirms his extraordinary commitment throughout his duel with Yoann Richomme, resulting in the record of the event shattered by almost 10 days (64 days, 19 hours…): « This duel really pushed us to sail hard and shoot at the boats. If I had been alone in the lead, I would have sailed at a gentler pace. But there was no choice there. And as a result, this gave rise to this record. It seems monumental but he will be beaten one day, I don’t know when. »
-Remembering moments of happiness like « the majestic flight of albatrosses » and the « passing Cape Horn by day »Charlie Dalin also spoke of the difficult living conditions on board, with « permanent humidity », « the noise very quickly at more than 80 decibels » and periods of sleep divided between ” twenty minutes and an hour and a half, except once when I slipped by three hours ».
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“New bone to gnaw”
Not without forgetting to salute the importance of the Solitaire du Figaro in his learning and for his success (the first 10 current sailors of the world tour have competed in the event and three of the first four won it), Charlie Dalin has not procrastinated at the moment in setting the course for the future: « That’s it, it’s the Rum Route (2026). In 2022, I finish second at 2 hours, so this is going to be my new bone to gnaw »… Until then, a family ski vacation and work on the boat are planned before launching next May…
The day before, at lunchtime, Yoann Richomme also appeared relaxed on the set of the show “Points de vue”. Questioned by Vincent Roux, he nevertheless admitted to having returned « hyper-tense muscularly, my osteopath who has been taking care of me for fifteen years never seen this ». The head is fine, the original Varois recognizing the superiority of Charlie Dalin: « I knew Charlie was going to be a machine and tough to beat. So there are no regrets, I am very satisfied with the work done. Three years ago, we launched a team from scratch. »
And after having mentioned his « pride » legitimate after this excellent result for his first participation in this « just incredible challenge »the skipper of the monohull Paprec Arkéa mentioned a second participation: « I give myself time to rest, otherwise I would end up burning out, and then afterwards, I decide. » While his duel with Charlie Dalin will continue in the fall on the Transat Café L’Or then on the Route du rhum a year later, not seeing Yoann Richomme on the start line of the Vendée Globe in four years would be quite a surprise .
