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06.08.2010 Back to news
Group Bel seventh in Brest
 | © JC.Marmara-A.Courcoux/ Le Figaro |
Another leg finish for night owls. In the middle of the night on the pontoon of Port du Moulin Blanc, in Brest, Rthe sailors tied up their boats every five minutes, as if they had only been gone for a few hours for a little run round three markers. Yet, they have been battling it out for three days and nights, without sleep, since they left Gijon on Tuesday. At the end of these 385 miles, which were exhausting from all points of view, once again Armel Le Cléac’h ended with a very fine win. Behind him, François Gabart, Jérémie Beyou, Jeanne Grégoire, Yann Eliès, Francisco Lobato and Kito de Pavant, who finished this second leg in 7th position. The Groupe Bel skipper finished at 03:23:21 this Friday morning. Totally exhausted, the Mediterranean displayed the euphoria of a sailor who does what he loves and has just had a blast. In the overall ranking half way through this Solitaire 2010, Groupe Bel is in 10th position, 2 hours, 8 minutes and 12 seconds behind Armel, the leader.
The wonderful world of the Solitaire du Figaro is populated with small sailing yachts, skippered by sailors who take indescribable joy in battling over a few metres of saltwater. In this game, Armel seems to be the chosen one, since he has won two legs in a row.. ??
At the finish in Spain, Kito enjoyed talking of a first training leg, before getting to the heart of the matter with the sail back up to Brest. He applied his plan to the letter, sailing up the Bay of Biscay in the leading pack. Seventh rounding the SN1 mark on Wednesday evening before Saint-Nazaire, the skipper then hung on like a limpet to a rock. ??In Audierne, he even tried one of his many exploits, moving to the west in search of a favourable wind swing. Alone on this option, the skipper did not hang around long, but slipping away like that enabled him to come back and position himself for the final sprint. Yet, this sprint didn't feel like one, since the "air blower" had slowed right down. At the entrance to the Goulet de Brest (narrows), it was enough to make a sailor depressed, with more than a dozen boats grouped together over a few miles. There again, Kito didn't give up. He finished 7th in "Brest itself"!
"I have not slept for three days. I had to take five minute naps. My hands are in bits, and I have cuts everywhere, but I'm satisfied with my second leg. In the first I was feverish and, in this one, I felt relaxed with a little hindsight on all that."
"It was long, hard, but fun to race in a forward position and to cling on to it. I have done well and I am pleased. I got off to a good start, almost in the lead. Afterwards, I wanted to keep right in the Bay of Biscay. I felt this was right and I didn't really know how to go about this so I tried and it was pretty good. Then you say to yourself: "OK, we'll manage this, we've got good conditions to lengthen the advantage", but no, they (the contenders) come back from all over the place, by the right, left, behind. You must never stop and keep attacking. ?? At sea, its impressive to see how everyone sails well, from the first to the last. I had forgetten what the Solitaire was like. Gaps can be made and unmade at incredible speed. You are obliged to give this race your all, otherwise it turns into a form of punishment."
"Armel (Le Cléac'h) is very fast. He crosses the fleet, sails really well and makes few mistakes. He is on a cloud and very serene. He has reached maturity, sails on board a yacht that is ready, and, most of all, he really wants to do this. Winning two legs, when he was not well positioned to start in either is really good. He is dominating the race for the moment and I hope he wins. Moreover, he has shown us this, like François Gabart.”
Full ranking: click here
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