WebreaderShopNewsletterTop harbours

53rd La Solitaire du FigaroMatch race duel for victory?

Tatjana Pokorny

 · 05.09.2022

53rd La Solitaire du Figaro: Match race duel for victory?Photo: Alexis Courcoux/53. La Solitaire du Figaro
The start of the third Figaro stage before Royon. The initial "overall concert" quickly developed into a top duel between Guillaume Pirouelle and Tom Laperche
The 53rd edition of the French classic La Solitaire du Figaro is coming down to the wire. The third, longest and final leg of the three-part race has been taking the soloists on the one-design Beneteau Figaro 3 boats from Royon over 700 nautical miles to Saint-Nazaire since 4 September. At the front, the two top skippers Guillaume Pirouelle and Tom Laperche are battling it out for the stage and overall victory
In this picture, the one stands for a sprint success. Can Guillaume Pirouelle realise his dream and win the Figaro on his first attempt?Photo: Alexis Courcoux/53. La Solitaire du FigaroIn this picture, the one stands for a sprint success. Can Guillaume Pirouelle realise his dream and win the Figaro on his first attempt?

Everything points to a final thriller

While the two German starters, Jörg Riechers ("Alva Yachts") and Sanni Beucke ("This race is female"), are currently rolling up the field from behind, a thrilling battle has broken out at the front of the fleet with 31 remaining boats. One day after the Sunday start, the young premiere participant and former 470 youth world champion Guillaume Pirouelle, 28, has the bow lead just ahead of the 25-year-old top favourite Tom Laperche in his fourth participation.

As they also lead the intermediate classification after the first two legs in this order and with a lead of just 14 minutes and 46 seconds for Pirouelle, everything points to a thriller decision between these two skippers. Can newcomer Pirouelle, who has been preparing intensively for this Figaro regatta for over two years, keep the big favourite Tom Laperche at bay? In a race poetically described by the organisers as "last dance " video clip with fascinating slow-motion footage of the third stage start can be found here.

Fighting for Figaro victory: the current second-placed "Region Bretagne - CMB Performance" skipper Tom Laperche wants more. He finished third on the Figaro podium in both 2020 and 2021Photo: Alexis Courcoux/53. La Solitaire du FigaroFighting for Figaro victory: the current second-placed "Region Bretagne - CMB Performance" skipper Tom Laperche wants more. He finished third on the Figaro podium in both 2020 and 2021

Catching up near the coast: Jörg Riechers fights back

The Hamburg helmsman Jörg Riechers can no longer intervene in this battle for the podium places in his second Figaro participation. He had opened the extremely demanding race with a strong breakaway and fourth place in leg one. A defective inspection flap due to a re-measurement, water ingress and a "blackout" took the 53-year-old off course on stage two, dropping him back to 22nd place in the intermediate classification.

After unusual speed problems at the start of leg three, Jörg Riechers is currently struggling to catch up with the main field in 27th place. However, the soloist from the Hamburg Sailing Club sailed closer to the French coast than the competition on Monday afternoon.

Jörg Riechers preparing for stage three in Royon harbour. He had started the final with great ambition. Why he had to struggle with speed problems at the start will only become clear after the finish, as communication with the outside world is not permitted on the FigaroPhoto: Alexis Courcoux/53. La Solitaire du FigaroJörg Riechers preparing for stage three in Royon harbour. He had started the final with great ambition. Why he had to struggle with speed problems at the start will only become clear after the finish, as communication with the outside world is not permitted on the FigaroAn excerpt from the live tracker for leg three on day two: the courses of Jörg Riechers, who can be recognised by the light blue boat symbol near the coast, and Sanni Beucke, who is approaching the next turning mark from far out at sea, are strikingly differentPhoto: 53. La Solitaire du Figaro/Screenshot TrackerAn excerpt from the live tracker for leg three on day two: the courses of Jörg Riechers, who can be recognised by the light blue boat symbol near the coast, and Sanni Beucke, who is approaching the next turning mark from far out at sea, are strikingly different

With Olympic silver in Figaro training

Newcomer Susann Beucke from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, still a "trainee" on the Figaro circuit, keeps Piers Copham, who is sailing behind her, at bay in 30th place; her boat is one of the fastest in the fleet on Monday afternoon with speeds in excess of nine knots. The Olympic 49er FX silver medallist had opted for an offshore course in her first Figaro year. The final judgement will be made at the end of this week when the Figarists cross the finish line off Saint-Nazaire. Click here for the Live tracker for stage three which is updated every five minutes.

Captured in a golden moment: the dream of Figaro sailingPhoto: 53. La Solitaire du FigaroCaptured in a golden moment: the dream of Figaro sailing

Share article:
Tatjana Pokorny

Tatjana Pokorny

Sports reporter

Tatjana “tati” Pokorny is the author of nine books. As a reporter for Europe's leading sailing magazine YACHT, she also works as a correspondent for the German Press Agency (DPA), the Hamburger Abendblatt and other national and international media. In summer 2024, Tatjana will be reporting from Marseille on her ninth consecutive Olympic Games. Other core topics have been the America's Cup since 1992, the Ocean Race since 1993, the Vendée Globe and other national and international regattas and their protagonists. Favorite discipline: Portraits of and interviews with sailing personalities. When she started out in sports journalism, she was still intensively involved with basketball and other sports, but sailing quickly became her main focus. The reason? The declared optimist says: “There is no other sport like it, no other sport with such interesting and intelligent personalities, no other sport so diverse, no other sport so full of energy, strength and ideas. Sailing is like a constantly refreshing declaration of love for life."

Home

Most read in category Regatta