TOUR DE BRETAGNE A LA VOILE
from 18th to 24th may

Press Release n°13
Thursday 22nd May 2003

A wet and windy night: Armel Le Cléac’h - Nicolas Troussel (Créaline) go for it

The night required the sailors to be opportunists, to bide one’s time and to spring into action at the right time. For Créaline, it all happened in the small hours of the morning in the rocks off Aber Wrac’h in a pebble-hopping session.

The Jackal is back. Armel Le Cléac’h and his sidekick Nicolas Troussel, had been sitting out on the sidelines at the beginning of the Tour but now find themselves in the spotlight overnight, confirming their ambition for what lies ahead.

Close-hauled to Basse de Portsall

After crossing the starting line at nightfall off Perros-Guirec, the fleet got underway against the current and wind between the Sept-Iles and the pink granite coast. No time for poetry in the first part of the race. Every inch counts and the fleet hugged the heads of the rocks. Even if the skippers emphasised the extent to which navigation aids, such as electronic plotters have changed their lives, there is still no margin for error. « It’s like a video game but without the possibility to reach ‘game over’ » as Gilles Chiorri (Delta Dore) put it on leaving Perros-Guirec. This was the leg many had been concentrating on. Some had been looking forward to it, such as Eric Drouglazet (David Olivier), who was pleased to see the weather conditions would be freshening up, others a little less enthusiastic in the likes of Jeanne Grégoire (Skipper AG2R) who was wondering quite what lay in wait.
As things turned out, the first part of the night made little or no difference : the leading figures of the Tour were still up front, namely Morvan - Pacé (Cercle Vert), Caudrelier-Bénac - Bidégorry (Bostik Findley) and Beyou - Chiorri (Delta Dore).

Winning ticket was inshore

On Créaline, had paid attention. As they approached the Ile Vierge, both took the inshore option. A counter current meant it was best to sail within the protection of the rocks scattered along the coastline. « What’s more, we knew that a warm front was expected in the early part of the morning, and that the wind would come in from the left as a result… No two ways about it, as we saw it, the closer to the shore you were, the better. » Créaline hugged the shoreline, forced never the less to deviate from her course upwind to avoid running into the rocks. When the rain started to fall, the two sailors were unable to assess just how good or bad their option was. When they came out the other side, on the port tack to roll round the Basse de Portsall, they spotted Cercle Vert at the mark a short distance to leeward. Their option had paid off, they had taken the lead.

Never let up

Behind them, Gildas Morvan and Bertrand Pacé are not known for being put off that easily. Aboard Créaline, the duo decided to keep on their toes. At the La Valbelle buoy, marking the entrance to the Chenal du Four, they decided to hoist their spinnaker. A close thing. Their closest opponents were left standing. The spinnaker held, the leader increased their lead, never to be caught.

In the end, Armel Le Cléac’h and Nicolas Troussel won the leg ahead of Cercle Vert and Bostik Findley. Charles Caudrelier-Benac and Pascal Bidégorry find themselves ahead of Gildas Morvan - Bertrand Pacé and Benoît Petit - Tangi Mahé in the overall rankings. But the game is not over yet. Just seven points separate the race leader and Yann Elies – Loick Peyron. All that boils down to very little indeed, when you consider that there are still four races to be sailed. Two windward-leeward loops in Lorient make turn out to be decisive for the places on the steps of the podium.

Today’s comments :

Armel Le Cléac’h (Créaline) : « We were pebbl-hopping right from the word go. It was hard-going because we had to change tack every two minutes and get really close to the rocks to gain ground. The fleet stayed close together as far as Trégastel, spreading out once we got to Lannion bay. We moved ahead of Gildas when we got to Aber Wrac’h. We were the first ones to hit the counter-currents from the shore and came out tops at the Basse Portsall buoy. By the time we reached Brest roads, the current was against us. It was tough going to hold onto our first place as Gildas was gaining ground all the time. We had to fend them off. On the first two legs, we made some bad tactical and strategic decisions. We’re disappointed about our start to the Tour de Bretagne. We’ll take each race as it comes and do our sums at the end. But we’re really pleased to have won a leg, particularly this one. We sailed close to home and said hello to Plougasnou and Saint-Pol de Léon… We know our home waters ! Our aim is to continue our climb upwards by through to the end of the Tour ».

Bertrand Pacé (Cercle Vert) : « Gildas has been very good at the chart table ! We had a great fight with Bostik Findley. It was great ! ».

Charles Caudrelier-Bénac (Bostik Findley) : « We were often in the lead but didn’t manage to hold onto it. We’re a bit disappointed. We’ll win tomorrow and the day after that. We’ll see how it all works out in the rankings at the end ! »

Pascal Bidégorry (Bostik Findley) : « We overtook Cercle Vert a couple of times before trying one or two tricks which didn’t always pay off. It was good to have been able to pull away form the fleet early on. If we’d won this leg, we’d have fought hard for it ! »

Yann Eliès (Groupe Generali Assurances) : « We left Perros Guirec in the lead. Everythign was fine in the middle of the night and then we missed out on one or two wind shifts under the clouds. Afterwards, we used the weather well picking up the front off Ile Vierge. It wasn’t a bad option after all, but it wasn’t enough for us to worry the leaders. We are disappointed to have lost a place to the Défi Santé Voile. They know these waters better than we do. Since the beginning of the race, we haven’t been able to stick with the leaders, but we’re consistent and the atmosphere on board is excellent ».