Victim of an ankle injury on the second day of the Vendée Globe while trying to repair a technical problem, Maxime Sorel (V and B – Monbana) was forced to abandon the race this Friday.
Maxime Sorel and his pretty boat decorated with a dragon will not go any further in this Vendée Globe 2024-25. Friday, after five days of competition, the skipper of V and B – Monbana informed the race management that he was withdrawing, the condition of his ankle having not improved since the shock it suffered from on the second day of racing when the skipper was trying to repair a problem with the hook (system which allows a sail to be hoisted, editor's note) and the mainsail rail. The 38-year-old from Saint-Malo even diverted to Madeira to try to resolve his physical and technical problems, but that changed nothing.
Sorel: “I let you imagine my physical and mental suffering”
“My ankle has been seriously damaged for four days. It only grew over time and through the maneuvers I carried out on board, particularly to try to resolve my major problems with the mainsail hook. I am in pain to the point of having difficulty moving on my boat, he explained. Now even when resting I have severe pain, I cannot continue to navigate in complete safety in this state. This night, under Madeira, I climbed into my mast. I managed, not without difficulty, to lower my mainsail. I noticed that the hook was broken. We had plenty of reasons to worry. At the same time, the mainsail rail is seriously damaged. With my pain or not, it is impossible to change portions of this mainsail rail at three meters high. It's construction work. I let you imagine my physical and mental suffering. »
“It’s been four years of preparation with my team to get to this point. However, everything was magical from start to finish even if I have the impression that nothing has been normal since I left on Sunday. If we had known what was going to happen before leaving the Vendée Globe, we would never go back. The positive, despite the great frustration, is that it will boost me for the future. I gave everything I could. This time, My ankle and my mainsail do not allow me to write this sporting and adventurous story that I love deep within me. »
Maxime Sorel is the first skipper to abandon this 2024-25 edition. During the previous edition (in which Sorel took 10th place, for his first participation), the first retirement occurred after seven days of racing, with the dismasting of Nicolas Troussel (Corum L'Epargne). There are therefore still 39 of them in the running.
SAILING / VENDEE GLOBE
Ranking at 11:00 a.m. – Friday November 15, 2024
1- Sam Goodchild (GBR/Vulnerable) 22,748.85 miles from the finish
2- Nicolas Lunven (FRA/Holcim – PRB) 22.13 miles from the leader
3- Boris Herrmann (ALL/Malizia – Seaexplorer) at 30.66
4- Sébastien Simon (FRA/Groupe Dubreuil) at 31.85
5- Justine Mettraux (SUI/Teamwork-Team SNEF) at 35.87
6- Yoann Richomme (FRA/Paprec Arkéa) at 47.10
7- Yannick Bestaven (FRA/Maitre Coq) at 47.38
8- Benjamin Dutreux (FRA/Guyot Environnement – Water Family) at 50.26
9- Jérémie Beyou (FRA/Charal) at 53.49
10- Charlie Dalin (FRA/Macif Santé Prévoyance) at 54.09
…
Abandon : Maxime Sorel (FRA/V and B – Monbana) after 5 days of racing due to an ankle injury and a broken hook
