The proto-podium is set, Burke, Fink and Kargl fight: The decision is made on the Passata motorway

The first big battle in the Mini-Transat Euro Chef has been decided: Pierre Le Roy ("TeamWork") has won the Proto classification ahead of Fabio Muzzolini ("Tartine sans Beurre") and his rival Tanguy Bouroullec ("Tollec MP/Pogo"). After outstanding performances, Muzzolini managed to get between Le Roy and Bouroullec, who had already been tipped as the top favourites in their discipline before the race because they had won almost all the races between them over the past two years. Muzzolini made life difficult for both of them and was rewarded with second place on the podium in the end.

All three had already earned their place on the podium in the overall standings on the first leg, when they escaped the field together with "Path" skipper Irina Gracheva and arrived in the harbour of Santa Cruz de La Palma more than three days ahead of the chasing pack. It was therefore clear to sailors and observers that victory on leg two would be the deciding factor. Shortly before setting off, the now beaten Tanguy Bouroullec had already put it in a nutshell: "It will be crucial to sail your own race, believe in your decisions, stay true to them and make sure you leave no regrets on the race course."

At the time, the mini-top performer could not have known how blatant the routing decisions would be: the competitors were up to 600 nautical miles apart in their lateral positioning. "I'm glad that in the end it wasn't the speed but the weather that made the difference. I had my plan firmly in mind and organised my race accordingly," said overall winner Pierre Le Roy. "I told myself that I would either win the race with flair or choose the 'safe' option by sticking to the back of the others. Which wouldn't really have served any purpose. So I trusted myself."

Meteorological ace Le Roy had dived deep into the south with his new scowbug from Raison, had hoped for more pressure and the corresponding advantages down to 12° north, but had to accept the greater distance on the second section from Santa Cruz de La Palma to Saint-François. He was rewarded for this. "I was convinced of this option and sure that my competitors were sailing further north. And I really went into attack mode. Of course, it wasn't easy, either psychologically or physically. It was pushed to the limit and I was afraid until the last moment that Fabio's red spinnaker would suddenly appear on the horizon - as had happened on the first leg. I didn't want to experience a repeat of that situation. I put an insane amount of effort into my race until the very end."

Pierre Le Roy: "It hurt, but that was the way"

Le Roy reached the finish line on 12 November after just under 14 days at sea, 25 hours and 34 minutes ahead of Fabio Muzzolini and Tanguy Bouroullec, who arrived around 14 hours later. That was also enough for overall victory. "That's how I had planned it," said a jubilant Le Roy, who won this mini-Transat edition in style and with great determination. "I made my decisions based on the weather aspects and never gave up. It hurt, but that was the way I wanted to win," explained the overall winner, who dedicated the race and the outstanding result to his father, who passed away last year, in the emotional moments after his arrival.

Heartfelt and sincere congratulations came from all sides. Fabio Muzzolini said: "I really want to congratulate him! If you want to win a mini-transat, you first have to run a successful campaign. He has done that brilliantly." At the same time, Muzzolini himself shone with second place in the overall standings - a result he would never have dared to dream of before the first starting shot. Tanguy Bouroullec, on the other hand, had laid his cards on the table right from the start and openly declared overall victory as his goal. And not just because he had already achieved fourth place in the last two editions in 2017 and 2019. Bouroullec had also started the year's highlight as the leader of the mini-season standings.

His conclusion: "On this second stage, the south was the right option. I should have opted for it too. Pierre did it. I quickly realised that we weren't in the same place, didn't have the same wind. The result is not what I had hoped for." The "Tollec MP/Pogo" skipper also had to contend with bowsprit problems on the last third of the second leg. "I set out to win the race. Once I realised that it wasn't going to happen, it was hard to swallow. It will take me a while to come to terms with it all, but that's the game in this sport." Click here for the results and interim results for the prototypes (please click!).

Tension is rising in the series boats

While the best proto-skippers are already celebrating in Guadeloupe, where the wonderful Irina Gracheva on "Path" finished fifth and was once again the fastest skipper on the second leg, putting her in fourth place in the overall standings, the series boats are getting down to business. Stage leader Hugo Dhallenne is expected to cross the finish line today. The Frenchman, who moved up to second place after stage one due to jury decisions following the flood of protests, was also under pressure from behind on Sunday morning with 60 nautical miles to the finish: The Italian Alberto Riva, who was only 14 nautical miles behind, has by no means given up his ambitions of winning this leg.

The two German skippers Lennart Burke ("Vorpommern") and Melwin Fink ("SignForCom") continued to fight on Sunday morning in 23rd and 24th position for every metre and therefore every minute that could be valuable in the final standings. After being separated by only around twelve nautical miles the previous evening, almost in a duet, Burke and Fink were again separated by 41 nautical miles laterally on Sunday morning. While Burke had positioned himself to the north and thus well above the ideal line to the finish, Fink was travelling south and below the ideal line with the accelerator pedal depressed.

On Fink's Facebook page on Saturday, observers wrote: "The last nights on the Atlantic are coming up. The home stretch lies ahead of Melwin Fink. We think that Melwin Fink will arrive in Saint-François on Monday. After the ups and downs of the placings due to the north/south route, Melwin Fink is currently benefiting from his dogged pace. It is extremely exciting. It is still too early to calculate the overall standings. But Melwin Fink will be at the front. That much is already certain. Every manoeuvre and every manoeuvre on the Passata motorway currently determines the overall ranking." The message is accompanied by this hashtag, among others: "Schnappsiedir". Click here for the tracker and the intermediate results of the series boats (please click! ).

Austria's Christian Kargl was able to improve further recently, moving up to 18th place and also fighting for a top position after third place on stage one.

The overall winner and the podium places for the series boats are expected to be decided on Monday. For those who want to do the maths themselves: the times of the first leg will be added to those at the end of the current second leg to determine the overall placings. Click here for the series boat placings and the times sailed in the first leg (please click!).