The 10e edition of the Vendée Globe set off from Les Sables-d’Olonne on November 10. The committed skippers will face the dreaded “doldrums”, a vast area around the equator in the middle of the Atlantic renowned for its capricious weather, the Saint Helena anticyclone, a high pressure zone, located in the South Atlantic, at the Azores anticyclone, a real test before arriving at Les Sables-d’Olonne… Not to mention the passage of three capes: the Cape of Good Hope which marks the entry into the Indian Ocean, Cape Leewin, at the exit of the Indian Ocean, and Cape Horn, the last stage before beginning their journey up the Atlantic.
The race in brief
74 days 3 hours 35 minutes and 46 secondsthe record time for the event, held to date by Armel Le Cléac’h.
87 days 2 hours 24 minutes and 25 secondsthe best female performance in history, by Clarisse Crémer.
Michel Desjoyeauxthe only skipper to have won the Vendée Globe twice.
25 finishers and 2021a record. Only 8 participants dropped out during the race, an unheard of event.
2024, the year of records. In terms of number of participants (40), i.e. 7 more than the record of the previous edition. Among them, 6 women will start on November 10, as many as in 2020. Also note that Jean Le Cam, the oldest of this edition (65 years old), will participate for the 6th time in the Vendée Globe, no one did as much before him.
The route
Who are the 2024 favorites?
Charlie Dalin will be the big favorite of this 10e edition. Arriving first on the finish line in 2021, he finally had to give up his place to Yannick Bestaven. Due to time compensation for assisting in the rescue of skipper Kevin Escoffier. The 40-year-old Norman will undoubtedly be keen to take his revenge. Which would be a great way to confirm his recent good performances (victories in the Vendée Arctic – Les Sables d’Olonne (2022), the Rolex Fastnet Race (2023), and the New York Vendée – Les Sables d’Olonne (2024) ).
We will also closely follow Thomas Ruyant, double winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre (2021, 2023) who also won the Route du Rhum in 2022. But also Sam Goodchild, Jérémy Beyou, Yohann Richomme, Sam Davies and Boris Herrmann. For his part, the dean of this edition, Jean Le Cam, with his wealth of experience (five editions of the Vendée Globe to his credit) could play spoilsport.
The winners of nine editions of the Vendée Globe
1989-1990 : Titouan Lamazou (109 days 8:47:55)
1992-1993 : Alain Gautier (110 days 2:22:35)
1996-1997 : Christophe Auguin (105 days 20:36)
2000-2001 : Michel Desjoyeaux (93 days 3:57:32)
2004-2005 : Vincent Riou (87 days 10:47:55)
2008-2009 : Michel Desjoyeaux (84 days 3h 9m 8s)
2012-2013 : François Gabart (78 days 2h 16m 40s)
2016-2017 : Armel Le Cleac’h (74 days 3:35:46)
2020-2021 : Yannick Bestaven (80 days 3:44:46)
Header photo: Anne Beaugé / Alea
- Themes :
- Live
- Around the world
- Vendée Globe
