La Solitaire du Figaro, la 40ma edizione è di Nicolas Lunven
FigaroMonotipiaSolitaire du FigaroVela 19 Agosto 2009 Zerogradinord 0
La Solitaire du Figaro – Dieppe – Dopo 511 miglia solo 12 minuti hanno separato il vincitore della quarta e ultima tappa della Solitaire du Figaro dal decimo classificato: un dato che da solo lascia intendere quanto sia stata dura la battaglia tra i solitari che, lasciata Dingle, hanno fatto rotta verso Dieppe, ultima linea di arrivo di questa indimenticabile 40ma edizione.
Ad aggiudicarsi l’ultima tappa è stato Antoine Koch, bravo a riprendersi ciò che in Irlanda aveva perso proprio nelle battute finali a favore di Jeremie Beyou. Dietro a Sopra Group, che ha completato la propria fatica alle 14.12 di oggi pomeriggio, hanno chiuso Nicolas Troussel e Thomas Rouxel, giunti dopo 3 minuti separati da una manciata di secondi.
Ma il vero vincitore della quarta tappa è stato Nicolas Lunven. Lo skipper di CGPI, al comando della classifica generale sin dalla conclusione della seconda frazione, ha arginato i tentativi di fuga di Yann Eliés, partito da Dingle con un deficit di soli 5 minuti, e ha tenuto testa a Frederic Duthil, che al passaggio dei Needles si era ritrovato virtualmente in testa alla graduatoria assoluta. Senza perdersi d’animo Lunven ha ricamato un finale perfetto, chiudendo la Solitaire du Figaro da leader, con un vantaggio di 20 minuti e 29 secondi su Yann Eliés e di 26 sul già citato Duthil.
“Se me l’avessero detto un mese fa che sarebbe finita così non ci avrei certo creduto – ha commentato Lunven appena messo piede in banchina – Non ho mai pensato di poter ambire alla vittoria. La battaglia è stata intensa, fin sul traguardo. Sono molto felice e orgoglioso per aver battuto alcuni grandi campioni come Michel Desjoyeaux. Credo di aver goduto molto del favore della mia stella portafortuna e sono convinto che non abbia senso per me tentare di giocare la lotteria domani: la dea bendata mi ha già dato tutto”.
La Solitaire du Figaro, Dingle-Dieppe
1. Antoine Koch, Sopra Group
2. Nicolas Troussel, Credit Mutuel de Bretagne, +2’18”
3. Thomas Rouxel, Defi Mousquet Aires, +2’44”
4. Nicolas Lunven, CGPI, +5’44”
5. Francois Gabart, Espoir Region Bretagne, +6’58”
seguono 47 skipper
La Solitaire du Figaro, classifica finale
1. Nicolas Lunven, CGPI, 285h 56m 55s
2. Yann Eliés, Generali, +20’29”
3. Duthil Frederic, BBox Bouygues Telecom, +26’14”
4. Thierry Chabagny, Suzuki Automobiles, +33’05”
5. Michel Desjoyeaux, Foncia, +34’47”
seguono 47 skipper
[flashvideo filename=video/solitaire/Solitaire09_arrivoDieppe.flv /]
Video courtesy Nefertiti Production.
LA SOLITAIRE DU FIGARO, THRILLING FINISH IN DIEPPE
[La Solitaire Press Release] In the sport of offshore racing it just doesn’t get closer than this. After 511 miles of intense competition, the 52 boat fleet finished the fourth and final leg of the event’s 40th anniversary edition this afternoon in Dieppe, and right to the very end it was almost impossible to pick the winner. The 10 leading boats streamed across the line in a little under 12 minutes, and ultimately it was Antoine Koch (Sopra Group) who crossed first, at 14h12 and 48 seconds, followed by Nicolas Troussel (Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne) and Thomas Rouxel (Défi Mousquetaires). But the big winner is fourth placed Nicolas Lunven (CGPI), who holds off his adversaries to take the title of overall winner on accumulated time across all four legs.
It took Koch 3 days, 58 minutes and 48 seconds to complete the distance from Dingle, on Ireland’s west coast – at an average speed of 7 knots the fastest of the four legs sailed. A fast reach across the Irish Sea threatened to be ended by a long slow crawl up the English Channel to the Needles, but the weather proved more co-operative and it was only last night that the fleet really slowed. The final 100 miles across the Channel were a fitting test of the Figaristes’ tactical nous, with not just one but two high pressure systems to deliver the kind of light and shifty conditions that can turn the established order on its head. As a case in point, Koch was barely inside the top 20 for most of the leg: even at the Needles Fairway buoy yesterday evening he was standing in 17th place: “Even if I didn’t start the leg particularly well, I’ve always been on the offensive. I attacked several times, I had good boat speed and it was the last attack that paid off. It’s been tiring, but today is a joyful day. This win has been two years in the making with the Sopra team, so of course it couldn’t be anything but enjoyable!”
The last stage must have been particularly anxious for 26 year-old Nicolas Lunven, defending the narrowest of leads in the overall rankings since the end of the second leg. Having left Dingle with an advantage of one second under six minutes over Yann Eliès (Générali), at the Needles yesterday this had turned into a four minute and 18 second deficit in favour of Frédéric Duthil (Bbox Bouygues Telecom). In the final reckoning Lunven did enough to keep Eliès in second, by 20 minutes and 29 seconds, and Duthil third. “If you had told me a month ago that I would arrive in Dieppe the winner I would not have been able to believe it, given the quality of the field. I wouldn’t have dared hope for it. The fight has been intense right up to the last few miles. I’m proud to have beaten Michel Desjoyeaux, because he sets the standard for offshore sailing, but also to have beaten the others because this edition has been quite extraordinary. I think I must have drawn heavily on my lucky stars, and I shan’t be playing the lottery tomorrow, because there would be no point!”
Also wearing the broadest of smiles was British skipper Nigel King, storming through the final leg to finish in an impressive sixth place, only 9 minutes and 39 seconds behind Koch. Consistently in touch with the front of the fleet, King has progressed leg on leg to the point where he can mix it with the best of them: ”I’ve just kept trying, kept on learning, and maybe over the course of the race developed the confidence to try new things, new ways of setting up the boat and sailing her. In Coruna I spent a whole day just looking at the other boats, studying photographs to see how the other guys do things. Not being able to have the pure time on the water that some of these other guys have, I’ve been having to learn as I go along, so to make this kind of progress is really encouraging.” The fact that King’s campaign has been largely self-funded makes his performance all the more impressive, his budget only a fraction of the size of many of his opponents’. Now thoroughly hooked on the race, his search for a sponsor will continue apace.
Fellow Briton Jonny Malbon (Artemis) finished the leg in 36th place, 1 hour and 54 minutes after the winner. After a poor start he clawed his way back up the fleet, finishing in his best position of the four legs, and continuing a consistently upward trend.
La Solitaire du Figaro, Dingle-Dieppe
1. Antoine Koch, Sopra Group
2. Nicolas Troussel, Credit Mutuel de Bretagne, +2’18”
3. Thomas Rouxel, Defi Mousquet Aires, +2’44”
4. Nicolas Lunven, CGPI, +5’44”
5. Francois Gabart, Espoir Region Bretagne, +6’58”
followed by 47 skippers
La Solitaire du Figaro, classifica finale
1. Nicolas Lunven, CGPI, 285h 56m 55s
2. Yann Eliés, Generali, +20’29”
3. Duthil Frederic, BBox Bouygues Telecom, +26’14”
4. Thierry Chabagny, Suzuki Automobiles, +33’05”
5. Michel Desjoyeaux, Foncia, +34’47”
followed by 47 skippers
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