The second leg of the 9th edition of the Les Sables-Les Açores-Les Sables mini classic is turning out to be even more exciting than initially expected. The winner could be decided as early as Saturday night. Who it will be, however, is anything but clear - the field has fanned out over 450 nautical miles in a north-south direction.
After the minis split into two groups early on, the tracking now even shows three different routes. In addition to a north and a south route, the centre route is now also proving to be quite successful.
Two days ago, things looked different. At that time, the northern route seemed very likely to be the best for this second stage. Now, however, the field has almost come to a standstill right there. The high-pressure ridge is proving to be extremely problematic, especially for the production boats, with most of them currently travelling at less than three knots.
However, Jacques Delcroix and newcomer Uros Krasevac seem to have already overcome this phase and are clearly ahead of the northern peloton with significantly better speed. Nevertheless, they had to relinquish their lead in the Protos and are currently in second and fourth place.
Already written off and now back in the lead
Contrary to expectations, Pierre Le Roy, winner of the first stage, also won the race on the way back to Les Sables-d'Olonne. took the lead. He chose his route through the centre, which was initially written off, and has also built up a clear lead there.
The long-distance duel with second-placed Delcroix is now in full swing. "The two (Delcroix and Krasevac) should have wind again in the evening or during the night," says Christian Dumard, the race's weather advisor, about the northern route. Due to the northeasterly current, they will probably be able to sail with a good angle towards the Vendée.
By the night from Friday to Saturday, the wind there should be significantly better than for the rest of their opponents in the centre and south. It is difficult to say at the moment whether this will be enough to put them back in the lead and take them to the finish line. However, the experienced Slovenian weather forecaster Jure Jerman is predicting a four-hour lead for Pierre Le Roy in his routing.
The split in the field is particularly exciting in the prototype class. The three leaders are all in different groups. With Arnaud Rambaud in third place in the classification, it became clear that the south might not be a bad option either.
In the series ranking, the entire leading trio can be found there. Lisa Berger from Austria also opted for this route, but does not appear to be as successful with it and is currently in 44th place. The best speed is currently being achieved by the middle fleet. This includes the Swiss Felix Oberle, who has worked his way back up to eleventh place in the series boats.
Who will win the race and which route will prove to be the most successful in the end is still completely open. While the participants do not really know how the leadership battle will actually unfold and which competitor has chosen which route, outsiders can follow the exciting finale on the tracking ( please click >> ).
Max Gasser
Editor Test & Technology
