| France. Transat Jacques Vabre: Armel Le Cleac’h holding a trump card |
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| Friday, 04 November 2005 | |
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Laurent Simon: Next Sunday, Armel Le Cléac’h, the youngest Breton on the multihull circuit will be crossing the starting line in the Transat Jacques Vabre alongside Irishman Damian Foxall. Stretching out ahead of Foncia, the 5 200 nautical miles from Le Havre to Salvador de Bahia. A lively programme in keeping with the skipper’s ambitions. In the last few days leading up to the start of the 7th edition of the great two-handed transatlantic race, skipper of the white trimaran, Armel Le Cléac’h is every bit as impatient as he is motivated. He has great things on his mind. Here are his impressions… Armel, here you are on the start of your first transatlantic race on a trimaran. How do you feel right now with just a few days to go before the big day ? Armel Le Cleac’h : « I can’t wait to get going, to leave dry land and the hustle and bustle of the last few days before the start. It’s calm once you get going and it’s great to get down to where the action is and into the heat of the competition. Foncia is ready. Damian and I have prepared really well for this race, the highlight of the season. It is all the more exciting as this passage is marked by lots of novelties. It is my first transatlantic event raced so short-handed as skipper on a boat like this. As if that wasn’t enough, I’ll be crossing the equator for the first time and sailing on the other side. And all that at an average speed of 15 knots ! Difficult to imagine a more interesting programme even if I am naturally apprehensive about certain things. That’s why I can’t wait to leave. To get rid of all of that and to start appreciating the competition ! » How have Damian and you prepared for this big passage ? A.L.C. : « With Alain Gautier who handed me the helm of Foncia, we chose to chop the 2005 season in two. The first half has remained focused on getting to know the boat, largely optimised after having changed the central hull. With a new team, I have spent most of my time at the helm to find my bearings on the first Grand Prix. Although our results were not outstanding, I have come to know her inside out. Never far from our minds, ever since Damian joined me from the start, we have been able to develop her for the Jacques Vabre. Beyond that and given that this event is known for being a highly physical race, we have not spared our efforts to be sure that we would be on top of the situation. When it comes to weather, we have set up a cell around Jean-Yves Bernot, our router, with my accomplice Nicolas Troussel for tactics and Alain Gautier for his knowledge of the boat and experience of the race. » How did you come to chose Damian ? A.L.C. : « It happened quite naturally. For my first ocean race on this type of machine, I wanted an experienced sailor by my side, someone who knows the job like the back of his hand and with heaps of experience. Damian meets all these criteria, reeling in miles and miles on the greatest races. He raced the last run of the race with Karine Fauconnier. We’re neighbours too - and he was available. Couldn’t have been better. We’ve already worked together as members of the shore team assisting Karine in the last English Transat race. Everything just kind of fell into place. I now know that we are highly complimentary – Damian has experience of racing offshore and of multihulls and I have a flair for racing. Makes us a tough team to beat. » How do you compare to your nine opponents ? A.L.C. : "We have an excellent hand of trump cards to play. The Le Havre line-up is homogenous. Eight of the 10 trimarans entered has the potential to win. Groupama is the big favourite. She has had a winning streak this year. But it is also the first time this boat is crossing the Atlantic and both Francks (Cammas and Proffit) are under pressure as they are defending their title. I know how tough it is to win. Foncia is very much at ease on the open sea. We’ve seen it for ourselves. That makes us serious outsiders." What are your objectives ? A.L.C. : "This is anyone’s race and I’m making no secret of the fact that I’d like to be in the first three across the finishing line in Bahia. What a success that would be. It’d be a great pleasure to share that with Foncia and Alain Gautier who have proven the level of trusty they place in me by handing me the helm." How are you approaching the two-handed race ? Does it compare with sailing solo ? A.L.C. : "Yes and no. Damian describes sailing two-handed as sailing very short-handed. By that he means that the boats are sailed in the same way as when they are sailed crewed, close to their full potential, unlike the way they are sailed solo, where you have to remain well within the boat’s potential. As I see it, sailing two-handed is an enhanced version of sailing solo. The boat is raced flat out in so far as we’ll be two up when the going gets tough. Sailing double is both like sailing solo and crewed at the same time! " Damian and you make a 100 % Celtic team for this Transat Jacques Vabre. Your coffee is a bit strong isn’t it ?! A.L.C : "Of course it is ! Damian is Irish, I’m Breton. Celts never give up. Imagine what it’s going to be like ! (Laugh). In any event, we know what to do – act just like our ancestors ! " Competitors Banque Populaire / Pascal Bidégorry & Lionel Lemonchois (France) Brossard / Yvan Bourgnon & Charles Caudrelier (Switzeland & France) Foncia / Armel Le Cléac’h & Damian Foxall (France & Ireland) Géant / Michel Desjoyeaux & Hugues Destremau (France) Gitana X / Thierry Duprey du Vorsent & Erwan Le Roux (France) Gitana 11 / Frédéric Le Peutrec & Yann Guichard (France) Groupama 2 / Franck Cammas & Franck Proffit (France) Sodebo / Thomas Coville & Jacques Vincent (France) TIM Progetto Italia / Giovanni Soldini & Vittorio Malingri (Italy) Orange Project / Stève Ravussin & Yvan Ravussin (Switzerland) More info on: www.trimaran-foncia.com and www.jacques-vabre.com |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 04 November 2005 ) |
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