Tour de Groix: Charal by a short bow
They had to fight hard right up to the finish line to earn victory in Sunday's Tour de Groix in fickle winds, forcing them to shorten the course at the Edouard de Cougery mark in the south of the island.
On Sunday, after 2 hours and 42 minutes of racing, the Charal crew finally won the shortened circumnavigation of Groix. But the battle raged on all the way after a hot start at 12:30 pm, which put on quite a show in the Groix courtyards. No great flights of fancy on the program, but the guarantee of intense IMOCA racing in light winds on Sunday.
Lunch stop
“A storm of blue skies over Lorient today, we had a magnificent start in 5-10 knots. Everyone made for the Pointe de Pen Men with the wind on the beam. There was then a big buffet stop to get around the tip of the island as we passed through a transition. Everyone got together and it made for some great images,” says race director Yann Eliès from the water, which was taken by storm by this exceptional fleet.
Off the wild coast, as the thermal breeze picks up and clashes with the synoptic wind, there's not much air left to fill the sails. But the crews, who welcome guests delighted to be part of the party aboard these beautiful machines, play along. The hunt for reefs is on. Two groups were formed, with on one side the open sea advocates, led in particular by Macif Santé Prévoyance, MACSF and VULNERABLE-Thomas Ruyant; and on the other a small group of boats seeking their salvation as close as possible to the steep relief of the island.
The podium in less than 2 minutes
Well seen, since the latter were under a little more pressure and managed to take the lead. But in these tight ranks, nothing is decided between Holcim-PRB, Initiatives Cœur and Coup de Pouce, who are neck and neck... In the end, in the joyful, friendly atmosphere that is the trademark of the last of the three races on the Défi Azimut-Lorient Agglomération program, Jérémie Beyou's crew won by a landslide at the cardinal Est Edouard de Cougy, marking the finish line of this shortened circumnavigation to the south of Groix. He was 8 seconds ahead of Fives Group - Lantana Environnement. Malizia SeaExplorer completes the podium, less than 2 minutes after the winner.
Tour de Groix Azimut rankings
1 - Charal (Jérémie Beyou)
2 - Fives Group - Lantana Environnement (Louis Duc)
3 - Malizia - SeaExplorer (Boris Herrmann)
4 - Coup de Pouce (Manuel Cousin)
5- TeamWork-Team SNEF (Justine Mettraux)
...