Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng Race Team was one of the top favourites in the 13th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race right from the start. However, the French-influenced crew sailing under the Chinese flag found it harder than expected. Until the final, all-important leg from Gothenburg to The Hague, "the Reds" were unable to win a single leg. "They could have lost confidence in me," muses Charles Caudrelier with a modest smile two days after his triumph.
In the interview, Caudrelier talks about how he was inspired by circumnavigators such as Éric Tabarly and Sir Peter Blake as a teenager. "It's simply incredible that my name is now engraved on a trophy above theirs," says the Frenchman, almost a little astonished. He also talks about the difference being a crew member of the Volvo Ocean Race makes.(with Groupama for the penultimate edition, editor's note) or as a skipper: "As a crew member, it was pure pleasure. As a skipper, it was really tough this time. Last time as a skipper, we still had fun because we were better than everyone expected. But this time everyone expected us to win. Me too. I worked so hard for it, but it just wouldn't come. It's been such a tough few months. I had low points like never before in my life. Because I had the feeling that my team could win, but I made so many mistakes and we lost so many points."
Caudrelier's face suddenly brightens as he talks about the thrilling finale in The Hague: "The scenario couldn't have been better. When everyone thought that we simply couldn't win a stage, we did it - and won the race." Caudrelier says that his team stood behind him at all times during this eventful circumnavigation, both on the water and on land. But one nautical mile before the finish, he was still thinking about what could happen: "Maybe the mast will break, maybe something will get caught in the keel, maybe we'll have to sail backwards?" Then he laughs with relief and savours for a few seconds the certainty of having actually achieved this victory.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
