Jérémie Beyou sets himself up as Vendée Globe favourite
Jérémie Beyou has consolidated his position as favourite to win the Vendée Globe after beating all his rivals in the Vendée-arctic-les Sables d’olonne race in July.
After COVID-19 led to the cancellation of both the Transat and New York-vendée races, many of the Vendée Globe entrants were missing race training time and qualification miles. A replacement race was hastily arranged, around a 2,800-mile triangle from the French Atlantic port to two turning marks off Iceland and the Azores.
Some 20 skippers entered, setting off on a thumping upwind first leg that saw some early retirements – Sébastien Simon’s brand new Arkea Paprec was among them after suffering a broken starboard foil.
Thomas Ruyant on Linkedout, also a latest generation design, took the early lead, closely followed by Beyou’s Charal and Charlie Dalin on Apivia. The leading three enjoyed a Figarostyle game of cat and mouse in the biting cold and constant daylight of 60° North. As they approached the UNESCO waypoint off Iceland the lead changed frequently until Ruyant rounded first with just a six minute lead.
Originally scheduled as an ocean test, the Vendée Arctic instead turned out to be closer to the tactical battle of a Figaro coastal race – the lead changed over 38 times. At the final waypoint, 400 miles west of Les Sables d’olonne, Dalin rounded just ahead of Beyou. But in deep reaching conditions, Beyou was able to outpace his rivals over the final 200-miles to take the win less than one hour ahead of Dalin, with Ruyant just 20 minutes later in 3rd.
Beyou was clearly immensely relieved at the finish, seeing the win as a validation of his
Vendée Globe preparation. He admitted: “I’d put pressure on myself, all on my own. It was important for me to sail well.
“I can kind of settle down a bit. I no longer feel this pressure on the eve of the Vendée Globe start. I know where I’m going, how to get there and that’s a great victory in itself.”
The intensity of the racing gave a clear indication of how close this November’s Vendée Globe might be. “Guys… I’m not keeping up that pace! I’m not racing a 70-day Vendée Globe like we’ve sailed here for the past ten days,” joked Ruyant at the finish.
Other sailors who will be pleased with their performance include Sam Davies on Initiatives Coeur, in 4th and Kevin Escoffier on PRB in 5th. These two were racing the older style foiling IMOCAS and finished within hours of the latest generation leaders.