Transat CIC: Final thriller on course for New York - Boris Herrmann chases Yoann Richomme

Tension is high in the Transat CIC! While Yoann Richomme ("Paprec Arkéa") was initially able to defend his lead in the nightly doldrums poker, Boris Herrmann is not letting up. 16 nautical miles separated the leader and his first pursuer at the 10 o'clock update on Monday morning. The flat winds have slowed both boats down time and again recently, but are likely to pick up again somewhat on the way to the finish line around 120 nautical miles off New York.

Transat CIC: Boris Herrmann well positioned for the final

For Boris Herrmann, it will be a tough act to catch up with the leader over the last 150 of the more than 3,500 nautical miles of the Transat CIC. However, the "Malizia - Seaexplorer" skipper has recently positioned himself well with his leeward position in relation to Richomme in order to be able to sail at a higher angle and therefore a better speed than the Frenchman in lighter winds.

At the same time, Boris Herrman must also defend his strong second place to the rear. However, the "Malizia - Seaexplorer" skipper had built up a good lead of around 38 nautical miles over his closest rival Sam Davies ("Initiatives-Cœur") on Monday. Davies, in turn, has to reckon with an attack from Maxime Sorel ("V and B - Monbana - Mayenne"), who has now overtaken Charlie Dalin ("Macif Santé Prévoyance"), who has dropped back to fifth place.

Everything is set for a thrilling final act in this varied Transat CIC, in which the winds should now pick up again for the leading boats. "The management of this transition zone should be interesting," explained Amélie Juvien from the race organisation early on Monday morning. "You have to see who feels most comfortable in the short time. Whoever manages to get out of there the quickest will have an advantage and could emerge as the winner. But it remains a very unstable area. So it's possible that there will be someone who manages to get a little more wind than others."

"Alla Grande Pirelli" leads Class 40

The race organisers assumed that the Imoca top ten would be known by the end of the day. The old adage also applies on the final section, which is littered with flat fields: if you're in front, you can control. If you're at the back, you can go round if someone gets stuck. "You have to keep up the pace and stay clear despite the required manoeuvres," explained Amélie Juvien. Most recently, the race organisers expected the first boat to arrive in the late afternoon, but warned that the unstable situation could lead to delays.

For safety reasons, the finish line is 120 nautical miles away from New York. After crossing the finish line, the boats still have around ten hours to sail to the harbour. A similar scenario applies to the fastest Class 40 soloists, who are around 700 nautical miles away. They were last expected to arrive on Thursday. Ambrogio Beccaria on "Alla Grande Pirelli" continues to lead with a lead of almost 70 nautical miles over Ian Lipinski ("Crédit Mutuel"), who fought an exciting duel for second place on Monday morning with Fabien Delahaye ("Lagallais Team Voile"), who was around ten nautical miles behind him.

Click here for the tracker and the intermediate results.

Dolphin greetings from Boris - Boris Herrmann sent this clip from the sea on Sunday evening:

Beccaria's hunter gives insights into his life on board - "Crédit Mutuel" skipper Ian Lipinski reports on working and living on board: