Ocean Race Europe: Baci from "Bogi" to home win, mistakes set Malizia back
Tatjana Pokorny
· 03.09.2025
The dream run of Allagrande Mapei Racing lasted 2 days, 8 hours, 41 minutes and 14 seconds. Then skipper Ambrogio Beccaria's heart's desire was fulfilled. After the crash with "Holcim-PRB" in the starting harbour of Kiel, zero points for stage one, the slow resurrection and the increasing cohesion of the crew, the Italian and his French teammates managed to make a precision landing on course for Genoa. There, Beccaria is now celebrating his first Imoca victory on course for the Vendée Globe premiere in 2028.
"When you hope for victory and then actually win, it's really marvellous," said Ambrogio Beccaria on his arrival in Porto Antico. He also pointed out a phenomenon: "It was an incredible stage, windy, sometimes almost 30 knots - a lot for a stage in the Mediterranean." The 34-year-old Ambrogio Beccaria is being spurred on in his first major Imoca race by Team Thomas Ruyant Racing (TRR), whose 2022 Koch-Conq design "Vulnerable" is now successful as the "Allagrande Mapei".
Tough battle for Team Malizia
After "Allagrande Mapei", Yoann Richomme's "Paprec Arkéa" and Paul Meilhat's "Biotherm" also reached the Genoa finish of the fourth leg of the Ocean Race. For the first time, the French race dominator "Biotherm" did not win a classification. Team "Holcim-PRB" was expected to be the fourth boat to cross the finish line on Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, Boris Herrmann and his crew on "Malizia - Seaexplorer" are battling on course for Genoa their most difficult battle to date in the Ocean Race Europe.
On Wednesday morning, three nights after the Sunday start in Nice, the German Imoca was in sixth place behind Team Canada Ocean Racing - Be Water Positive with skipper Pip Hare and ahead of Alan Roura's Swiss team Amaala. Team Malizia had reached the Strait of Bonifacio too late and had to watch as the leading quartet hurried away in dying winds in which they too would have been only too happy to show their strengths.
Boris Herrmann took an unsparing look at the course of the leg from his team's perspective, telling YACHT online on Wednesday morning: "We missed the boat in several places - these were small details with big consequences. The first mistake was the late tack towards Monaco after the start. We didn't get the same shift 200 metres further offshore. Then after the gate the wind was a bit lighter..."
Ocean Race Europe: small mistakes, big impact
Boris Herrmann continued: "We had difficulty gaining depth in order to stay as far west as possible on the way south. That was it. Two to three miles further west, the others made faster progress southwards. We then lost a lot and ended up in a different regime in Bonifacio. 11th (Red.: Canada Ocean Racing) then sailed well too. It's just not a good swing."
You can also see from Holcim how a small mistake can cost eight hours." Boris Herrmann
Instead, this fourth leg of the Ocean Race Europe once again sparked a battle between the Guillaume Verdier-designed Imocas "Biotherm" and "Holcim-PRB" and their Koch-Conq rivals "Paprec Arkéa" and "Allagrande Mapei". The Azzurri were able to establish themselves in the leading group right from the start.
The leading boats had circumnavigated Corsica in a light east-south-easterly breeze typical for this time of year before turning into the notorious Strait of Bonifacio. The Italian team attributes it to "the experience of Morgan Lagravière and the energetic return of Manon Peyre" that the crew were able to "sail precisely upwind in flat seas and wait patiently for more favourable conditions in the Tyrrhenian Sea" when others were still leading.
Successful in the territory of childhood
On Tuesday, Ambrogio Beccaria and his team were able to turn the tide in their favour on this fourth leg. The Italian Imoca found the longed-for southerly wind and the Beccaria crew were able to realise their full potential downwind. This was achieved despite an engine failure that left the crew without power and navigation instruments for more than an hour.
Ambrogio Beccaria, Thomas Ruyant, Morgan Lagravière and Manon Peyre had the opportunity to overtake "Paprec Arkéa" during the night. From there, "Allagrande Mapei" led the fleet past Livorno and the Ligurian coast. It was a symbolic moment for Beccaria, who knows the area like the back of his hand and led the tactical duel off La Spezia - the region where ship engineer "Bogi" once studied.
With only 160 miles to go to the finish, the four leading boats in the Gulf of Genoa were only two nautical miles apart at times. On passing the Gallinara waypoint, "Allagrande Mapei" took the lead and set the pace. Bit by bit, the crew built up a lead of twenty nautical miles over "Paprec Arkéa". Although the fading breeze along the Ligurian Riviera then slowed the fleet down again, the crew on "Allagrande Mapei Racing", which had started the "home leg" with such determination, never wavered after that, reaching the finish line in the middle of the night at 1.41 a.m. very early on Wednesday morning.
Stage win in the Ocean Race Europe: furious, but not flawless either
Despite all the exuberant joy of seeing Ambrogio Beccaria "flying kisses" (baci) through the air in Genoa, the skipper also found a few weaknesses in his Qurtett's dream run: "We made a small mistake at the scoring gate, which set us back a little. The journey along Corsica was difficult as the boat struggled a bit in these conditions. But then the exit from the Strait of Bonifacio was simply magical."
We were flying at 20 knots in the wind - a feeling I'd never experienced before." Ambrogio Beccaria
Then memories of his childhood flashed through Beccaria's mind, as he recounted: "Before Sardinia, we were sailing near the places where I had learnt to sail - a special moment when friends came out to greet us.
The most critical moment, the skipper reports, was a long section towards La Spezia: "Without electricity, we were completely in the dark - no instruments, no connection. I steered blindly at night while Morgan worked on a repair. After more than an hour, we managed to restore everything. Incredibly, we had overtaken our competitors during those two hours without power."
Pasta pesto for the stage win
Ambrogio Beccaria continued: "The arrival in the Gulf of Genoa was very technical, full of transitions and tension. But we made it. And yes, just before the last turning manoeuvre, I cooked a delicious pasta al pesto for the crew - we needed it! Finally a leg with real wind, one of the best. Sailing these boats in these conditions is simply the best: everything feels easier, even at 25 knots!"
Beccaria's French mentor Thomas Ruyant was also delighted with the success, saying in Genoa: "It's a wonderful finish, which is something very special for Bogi here in Italy. We had planned to make this stage a strong one, and perhaps this additional motivation was the deciding factor."
Thomas Ruyant has long been one of the great Imoca sailors in his guild. Also known as the "King of the Atlantic", the multiple winner of major races, who is now giving Beccaria wings on its Vendée Globe course, said: "It takes time to master these Imocas, but here we have finally managed to realise their full potential, especially in strong winds downwind."
Ocean Race Europe: "Biotherm" dethroned for the first time
According to Ruyant, two moments were decisive: "Catching the leaders in the Strait of Bonifacio and then holding out from the wind in the power cut before skilfully playing the Gallinara passage when the fleet caught up again. We are happy with this victory and proud to have dethroned 'Biotherm' on this stage." Click here for the interim results before the last of five legs and the final coastal race in the area of the finish harbour Boka Bay in Montenegro.
In the overall standings, almost everything remains the same for the time being: "Biotherm" continues to lead the Ocean Race Europe with a commanding 41 points. Yoann Richomme's "Paprec Arkéa" (29 points) has moved up to second place because "Holcim-PRB" (28 points) was only the fourth boat to finish. If Team Malizia's current sixth place on this fourth of five legs in the Ocean Race Europe remains, Mapei Allagrande Racing, with 19 points in its account, would overtake Boris Herrmann's crew (predicted: 18 points) and take fourth place.
