Tour de France à la Voile 2003
Press release n°9

July the 14th

Bouygues Telecom wins the last offshore race in the Atlantic

Pierre Loïc Berthet and the crew of Bouygues Telecom are most happy. For the first time in five years, the defending champions have won an offshore race in the Tour de France à la Voile. Bouygues Telecom came home in first this morning after a most intensive 95-mile race from St-Denis d'Oléron to Arcachon. Jimmy Pahun's Région Ile de France came in second ahead of Xavier Lecoeur's Capsport. Among the leaders, the unhappy ones are Marc Bouvet and the crew of Ville d'Antibes NEC. As they finished in 18th position, they drop from second to fourth overall. The Italians onboard Joe Fly had a good race and came home in 6th, which allow them to gain one spot in the overall ranking. Unfortunately, it's not the case for the Aussies of Southern Sun Team Australie. Kirwan Robb and Mike Smith¹s team finished in 18th and therefore now stand in 11th place overall.

"We're so happy! We've been waiting for that for five years", said Mathieu Richard, the tactician, who skippered the Mumm 30 for this race as it was Berthet's turn to rest and stay ashore. "It's a shame Pierre Loïc (Berthet) wasn't onboard for this one", added Richard. Its' a great achievement for the guys from Nantes who, though they won the Tour de France à la Voile last year and are currently leading overall, had never won an offshore race. It just proves how consistent they are.

This 95-mile race from St-Denis d'Oléron to Arcachon has been most tiring for the 37 crews participating in the Tour de France à la Voile 2003. The fleet had kicked off last night at 18:07 with winds of 5 to 6 knots. Marc Bouvet's Ville d'Antibes NEC had the best start. Later on, as the fleet passed the Antioche's lighthouse, the Swiss of Ville de Genève Carrefour Prévention were in the lead ahead of student boat Southampton Institute Alpha Laval and Région Archipel Gouadeloupe. At that time, Ville d'Antibes NEC was in 4th and Bouygues Telecom in 14th. But the race had only just started. At 22:19, the leading boats were sailing fast with their spinnaker up through the two marks at the Gironde's mouth. Capsport had got into the lead ahead of Région Ile de France and Ville de Genève Carrefour Prévention. The Mumm 30's were surfing, pushed by a 4 knots current. "We were 5th at that mark, but after that we lost a few places as we ripped our asymmetrical spinnaker. Instead we had to use the masthead spinnaker", explained Mathieu Richard.

At 02:00, as the wind dropped, the fleet slowed down considerably. As the sun was about to rise, Région Ile de France was in the lead. Behind, the fleet had split into two distinct groups. One group, lead by Capsort and Joe Fly, had opted to sail closest to the shore and was sailing upwind in a southeasterly breeze. The other group, lead by Bouygues Telecom and Ville de Genève Carrefour Prévention, was further offshore and sailing downwind in a westerly wind . "We had decided to sail further offshore in order to try and catch the sea breeze. It paid! By trying to control the fleet, Région Ile de France found herself in windless area in between the two groups and therefore lost their lead. The race has been tight until the finish. We won with only a few seconds lead", added Mathieu Richard. Behind, Capsport and Toulon Provence Méditerranée Coych also had a match race battle, which ended with Capsort crossing the line in third and therefore getting back into third place overall. The top three of this Atlantic's last offshore race are the top three of the overall results.

The Italians onboard Joe Fly Sailing team came home in 6th. Federico Michetti and his crew are showing determination and skill and are keen on improving their current 7th place overall. So are the Aussies of Southern Sun Team Australie. Melbourne's team, skippered by Mike Smith and Kirwan Robb are disappointed as they came in 18th and therefore drop to 11th place overall. But the Tour de France à la Voile is not finished yet and they still have plenty of races to try and come back in the top ten.

As they stepped ashore, the exhausted crews went for a most deserved rest. Two inshore races are scheduled for tomorrow. Then, the boats will be lift up and towed to St-Cyprien on the Mediterranean coast.

Full results and ranking on www.toourvoile.fr