Tour de France à la Voile 2003
Press release n°13

Antibes Juan Les Pins/Alpes Maritimes, July the 26th

The Swiss first in Antibes-Juan Les Pins/Alpes Maritimes after a nail biting finish

Swiss boat Ville Genève Carrefour Prévention, skippered by Julien di Biase, crossed the finish line of the last offshore race in first, just ahead of Thierry Bouchard¹s Défi Partagé. The two boats had a most intense match-race towards the finish line. But because they had a premature start under Z flag this morning, the Swiss got a 20% penalty and therefore did not win this last 36-mile offshore race from St-Maxime to Antibes-Juan Les Pins/Alpes Maritimes. The boats did not make it easy for the race committee who had to fire the gun several times this morning. The fleet eventually kicked off at 10:22 after two general recalls. As the gun fired for the third time, the Z flag was displayed on the committee boat. Nine boats had a premature start and therefore a 20% penalty. Among them was not only today¹s winner Ville de Genève Carrefour Prévention but also former overall leader Bouygues Telecom. With this penalty, Pierre Loïc Berthet and his crew, who still stand in fourth place, have made it even more difficult for them to try and come back in the top three.

Capsport, now skippered by Marseille's Dimitri Deruelle, still holds onto the overall lead but the gap with Brittany's Jimmy Pahun onboard Région Ile de France has narrowed. The latter came home in third today where Capsport crossed the line in 5th. However, Jimmy Pahun does not seem to believe in victory anymore. "I don't think we can win this. If we do, it means Capsport will sink. Generally speaking, we had good results in the Med except for Sète. Our bad day cost us a lot", said Pahun who¹s very pleased to stand in second place overall. "I'm very happy as this year I have a new team made of young sailors. It's very promising for the next few years", added the skipper of Région Ile de France.

The boys of Ville d'Antibes NEC were disappointed not to win in their home town. The boat, skippered by 49 ner sailor Marc Audineau, finished in 13th. They still stand in 3rd overall but are further behind the top two. "It's getting harder to gain one spot. We hope to do well in the next two days", said Marc Audineau.

Southern Sun Team Australie finished in 11th today and still stand in 10th overall. Melbourne's Kirwan Robb, co-skipper, commented on the race: "The first probably 4 miles coming out of the last townŠ that's pretty much where the race was played. The wind was all over the place and some boats got out of it pretty well where a lot of the good boats struggled. Then after that it was pretty much a straight line. No passing lanes!" The Aussies do not worry about not finishing in the top ten "Our opposition came nearly last and got a 20% penalty. ", added Kirwan Robb.

Onboard Joe Fly Sailing Team, the Italians seem to have encountered some speed problems as explained Morgan Larson, the navigator: "It was challenging. The first 20 minutes was the whole race. After that it was a five-hour parade. We did ok there but we just did not have enough speed and we struggled. We have to work on it for tomorrow. The Italians made a decision earlier in the program to have heavier and stronger sails, expecting the Atlantic to be windy and that by the time they came here everybody else sails would be tired. But it did not really played out that way. It's been a light series".

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