2024-09-02 07:01:34
When a low pressure front approaches, you have to be in the best position. Alexis Thomas, Tom Dolan and Charlotte Yven happily lead the pack.
Special correspondent aboard the Express
After starting the second stage from Gijón at the speed of gastropods, the 36 competitors in Solitaire du Figaro 2024 have one obsession in mind. Find a chance to be better beyond the declared front, is to shake them on the other side of the night. Woe to those who miss their departure. Reading the conditions from the race control boat was even clearer to them while the dark night and endless rain covered their shoulders. The difference was significant.
The joy of being in front
A trio has managed to pull out their gregues. Tom Dolan (Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan) was the champion. The Irishman knew, he had just worn the first banderilla: “There, there was a 20 wind on the boat and it was very cold. Everything went exactly as planned. I managed to win in the west to hit the air first. Suspiciously, I pulled northeast to crosswind of the ships. I don’t think it will go very far, that’s fine. But the road is still long, there will still be buffers, gaps, things to go through. The wind will gradually ease and it will begin to move and we will put bigger and bigger ships forward. I am in good shape. I took advantage of the ear that arrived to get some sleep after an uncomfortable night where I had to stay focused to prevent the ship from stopping.”
Less than a mile away, Alexis Thomas (Wings of the Ocean) has the same cheerful voice: “We took off in a little bit of headwinds ahead of a cold front. We have to raise it by pulling the canopy to the port because it descends from the north-west, and cut it as perpendicular as possible. There, at 6 o’clock, that, we passed it with a big shift to the right which allowed us to tumble under the gennaker towards the next point. It begins with heavy cloud mass, followed by heavy rain, then a sudden shift to the right. Very basic for around ten minutes. With the wind behind the front. It is always good to be in front, especially as you should stretch from the front. For others, the return can be complicated up to the mark. But the road is still long. Currently we have 20 knots of wind with gusts of 25 and rather flat seas because the swell has not had time to settle. Don’t worry. “
“Good for character”
Charlotte Yven (Skipper Macif 2023) is also happy with the good performance: “It’s a very sweet edge after a slightly slow start to the race. You have to move well to have the best possible trajectory to get to the front. In that case, I didn’t do too bad, I thought. This changed not long ago as the front approached. We were heading west with the gennak in the wind and water all over the deck. In AIS I saw four ships. Others take some distance. I am very happy to find myself in the leadership team. This is one of the first times I had such a good start to a stage. It’s good for character. We will have a few short hours on the fast side in this sense. Then, the air will soften and become lighter. In 3 to 4 hours we will send a spinner and go to the Sisargas Islands to go around.
The islands of the first round will be around 4 pm this Monday.
After the leaders of football, it is undoubtedly a soup of grimaces. The fourth, Martin Le Pape (Demain), is 6 miles away. Loïs Berrehar (Skipper Macif 2022), winner of the first stage, is 8 miles away. Basile Bourgnon (Edenred), the leader of the general classification after the first stage, has dropped to the devil Vauvert, more than 14 miles.
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