51st La Solitaire du Figaro title for Le Cléac’h, Tom Dolan lifts Vivi Trophy

Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) lifted the overall title for the 51^st La Solitaire du Figaro at the end of race prizegiving in Saint Nazaire, France today. It is Le Cléach’s third time of winning after successes in 2003 and 2010.

With the fourth leg cancelled before starting on Saturday night due to the complete absence of wind, Le Cléac’h’s winning margin was 10 minutes and 43 seconds over Fred Duthil (Techniques Voiles/Cabinet Bourhis Generali) who took second after winning the third stage. And third overall is young French ace Tom Laperche (Bretagne CMB Espoir). At just 23 years old Laperche is on just his second ever La Solitaire after debuting in 11^th last year. 

Top rookie this year is Kevin Bloch of the Team Vendée Formation group, finishing 12^th overall. And in fifth place overall Ireland’s Tom Dolan received the VIVI Trophy for the best racer from outside of France. 

“I am delighted to see Tom win and delighted to see that in just the second year since the trophy was donated it really has become established as something that the sailors want to fight for and at the same time they are now getting some well deserved recognition,” said Marcus Hutchinson, who with his wife Megan, donated the trophy last year. “And I am pleased to see it go to a fellow Irishman in Tom and he wins if not for being tenth or twelfth but for a great fifth place. He has been consistent this year and that is what La Solitaire is all about. This race so challenging and so complicated and he has worked hard. And it is nice, in a way, that he does not come from Dublin or Cork or one of the Irish sailing centres, his success says anyone can come and do this if they have the will and the determination, anything is possible. Tom has shown that.” 

Alan Roberts (Seacat Services) finished in tenth place overall (+2hrs 11mins behind winner), pledging to come back next year to do better and to fight even harder. 

“I am happy with my top ten, that is always a good result in La Solitaire, I know I can do better and I know I can be better and so I am going to come back stronger and harder. I think our approach over the last couple of weeks has been spot on. I did not feel so quick early on in the season but I made the right moves towards the end. I am happy for Tom Dolan he has had an amazing race, he was solid. Tom did a brilliant job.” 

On his first La Solitaire du Figaro since his one and only experience in 2011 when he was 18^th, Phil Sharp (OceansLab) finished up 13^th overall (+2hrs 41mins) “ Mostly I am happy I have been improving on every leg, and improving a lot. It is amazing to be in the Top 13. I think overall the result on this race goes down to preparation. But for me the improvement is noticeable and there is a huge satisfaction in just learning to do it better, and some of that comes from just being out there seeing boats around you and picking up the pace with them. I have come on a long way.” 

For a programme which only started just three weeks before the race started Jack Bouttell can be pleased which his 15^th on Fromagerie Gillot (2hrs 43 mins). “You always finish thinking you could have done a bit better but overall I am happy with where I finished, there are some good guys behind me and some good guys just ahead. I lacked a bit of speed at times. Would I come back? Yes and No. It is addictive. Look at leg 3 it was so long and hard, four days of hell, but you finish disappointed and cant wait to get out and improve. The sponsors Fromagerie Gillot have never been involved in sailing and they have really enjoyed it and got something good from it.” 

Having sailed so brilliantly until the latter stages of Stage 3 Britain’s Sam Goodchild (Leyton) deserved much better than the 17^th place he finished in. To have been third going into what proved the last leg and not had a fourth leg to fight back on was doubly cruel to Goodchild who nonetheless established himself as one of the best Figaro sailors of the moment, sailing well across the wind range. 

They said: 
8^th, Yann Eliès (Queguiner Materiaux-Leucémie Espoir): 

When you finish a Solitaire, do you say never again or bring on the next one?
“Mostly there is a kind of hangover, because the race is over. It is  something that is so good, that we get so addicted to that in the end, we kind of have the feeling of the kid who had a great weekend and has to come home Sunday evening because there is school the next day. It’s the same and it’s very hard.”

At 50, is this La Solitaire still as great?
“Yes, I think it is doing pretty well, thanks in particular to people like Francis Le Goff (the race director) who is there to watch over it and preserve the spirit. We have to continue to make stages of at least three nights at sea, especially as we have great support that allows us to make progress and to go well. The first stage we did more than 600 miles, it went quick. So don't lets go on without doing the 600 to 800 miles, the boat is made for that.”

Now you are six triple winners, is the new lad up to the task? 
“Yes all things considered Armel is arguably the most talented of us. We must not forget that he was second in his first La Solitaire du Figaro (in 2002) and he has won the Vendée Globe on his third attempt and having been second twice before. He fully deserves this third win.”

What are the surprises for you on this 51st edition?
“It's only half a surprise, but I like Tom Laperche, I think he's a future great champion, really. He is gold, to be so mature at that age and after two Solitaries to be third is rarely seen. I also want to talk about girls, these two kids (Elodie Bonafous and Violette Dorange) who dared to come to La Solitaire and who did not let themselves down.  I hope they will make other girls want to come because we are going to need it in the years to come. And I want to see Robin Follin again, I found him good, nice, he was happy to dare as you saw with his passage on the other side of Ushant, to take this kind of option at his age, that means he has guts. I would like him to have his chance again with the opportunity to do some real preparation, because he has really struggled this year.”