Victory in the second Globe40 edition goes to Team Crédit Mutuel! Skipper Ian Lipinski and his co-skipper Antoine Carpentier also won the sixth and final leg from Racife in Brazil back to the start and finish harbour of Lorient.
The winners of the Class 40 two-handed round-the-world race with their alternating riders also had to put up with a few setbacks. But in the end, the favourites from France came out on top by a narrow 6:2 margin after winning the seven legs (prologue and 6 legs) against their only real opponents from Belgium. For the fifth leg, both teams were declared winners by the race organisers after the race became unresolvable.
French-Belgian duel: A dimension of its own at Globe40
With 21 points, the French team Crédit Mutuel beat Team Belgium Ocean Racing - Curium (23 points) in the final standings after seven months of racing. The two scow-bug boats had the interim withdrawal of Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink on stage three With their scow-bug racers and plenty of experience, the two of them have created their own performance dimension in Globe40.
Mostly travelling bow to bow, the French and Belgians created a lot of tension in this Class 40 round-the-world race. It remained unclear until the very end who would come out on top in the final act. In the final sprint, the Belgians were also thrown back by a torn fastening loop in the mast shortly before the finish. The mishap could not be repaired in a four metre wave. Gerckens and Hantzperg were no longer able to set the important gennaker. Tattered, exhausted, but very happy and relieved, their conquerors Ian Lipinski and Antoine Carpentier finally crossed the finish line off Lorient at 8:40:17 on 15 April in first place.
We have made it! That's a huge relief and takes a lot of pressure off me. Completing a circumnavigation - even if I haven't sailed the entire Pacific - gives me serenity and confidence in my abilities as a skipper." Ian Lipinski
Lipinski and Carpentier completed the final leg of the circumnavigation, which started on 4 September 2025 and covered a total of more than 30,000 nautical miles, in 16 days, 13 hours, 40 minutes and 17 seconds. Several sailors took turns contributing to the Globe40 triumph for Team Crédit Mutuel: Ian Lipinski and Antoine Carpentier, the two companions who also completed the two final stages 5 and 6 together, contested the prologue and stage 1.
Three men and a female sailor made "Crédit Mutuel" fast
Legs 2 and 3 were completed by "Crédit Mutuel" driver Ian Lipinski with Ocean Race Europe winner and New America's Cup sailor Amélie Grassi. For leg 4, Grassi's British husband Alan Roberts joined Antoine Carpentier in the boat, while Lipinski took a breather ashore before the Cape Horn leg and then conquered the legendary landmark himself.
This means that one female sailor and three male sailors are behind the "Crédit Mutuel" success in Globe40. And not just them, because the shore crew also did a great job of getting the 2024 raison design built by Gepeto into winning mode and keeping it there. Remarkable: Antoine Carpentier rode all but the third stage on "Crédit Mutuel". He won them all with different riders.
In any case, the French only stayed in the lead on the second stage, which was scored three times. "10-minute podium thriller from La Réunion" without a win, were not only beaten by the Belgians, but also by the strong performances of Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink. Fink said of the French victory: "They didn't allow themselves any big mistakes and clearly deserved the win. We congratulate them and are delighted for them!"
We admire the performance of 'Crédit Mutuel'. They sailed all the legs very strongly and very consistently." Melwin Fink
On social media, congratulations for Team Crédit Mutuel rolled into the channels every second on Wednesday morning, while their Belgian rivals were closing in fast. A broken sail had slowed them down in the final stages of the race. At the finish, the Belgians were 2 hours and 43 minutes behind the overall Globe40 winners, who have completed all sections of this 223-day race since 4 September 2025 in a total of 124 days, 7 hours and 54 minutes at sea.
"Gitana" crew welcomes the Globe40 winners
Jonas Gerckens and Benoît Hantzperg reached the line for Team Belgium Ocean Racing - Curium just a short time after "Crédit Mutuel" on 15 April at 11:23:56. On their way into the harbour, they were also welcomed by the testing crew on the new "Maxi Edmond de Rothschild ("Gitana 18") welcomed. In the harbour of La Base, the Belgians then experienced an emotional reception like Team Crédit Mutuel before them. The two best crews of this Glob40 edition congratulated each other on the dock.
It's a nice second place! They were the favourites. It was a good surprise that we were able to fight on equal terms with them." Jonas Gerckens
At this point, Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink still had 750 nautical miles to go, defending third place with around 50 nautical miles ahead of "Barco Brasil" and 100 nautical miles ahead of the French "Free Dom". Melwin Fink reported some relief at sea in the morning: "We are as good as through the front, but we still have a crazy wave, but already have another kite up. We're now heading for Lorient and are really looking forward to arriving!" The youngest crew in the fleet last expected to arrive in Lorient on Friday lunchtime.
Behind them, Lisa Berger and Jade Edwards-Leaney fought their way up to the boats ahead in small steps. The Austrian skipper and her Welsh co-skipper continue to fight for their podium chances.
The winners celebrate, the Globe40 continues
Click here for the Gobe40 tracker. The initially not yet updated Overall classification can be found here. The overall victory for Team Crédit Mutuel is easy to work out for yourself: The Lipinski team gets two points for winning the double scored final stage. Team Belgium Ocean Racing - Curium has four points to add for stage two. This means that two points in the final standings make the difference between two almost equal teams in the battle for overall victory.
Sleeping on board, flying fish and the right waking rhythm: lots of questions - Lisa Berger has the answers! In a Q&A session, the "Wilson" skipper answers the questions of her many fans during the final leg:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
