Transat CIC: Richomme and Lipinski in turbo gear, Boris Herrmann attacks the top three
Tatjana Pokorny
· 03.05.2024
This Transat CIC is not boring. Changes in the lead among the Imoca and Class40 soloists, strong chasers and Boris Herrmann, who is getting better and better, ensure continued excitement on the 3500 nautical mile solo course from Lorient to New York. The top Imoca duel between long-term rivals Yoann Richomme ("Paprec Arkea") and Charlie Dalin ("Macif Santé Prévoyance") alone is worth watching.
Transat CIC: Richomme gets ahead
However, after five days Yoann Richomme was now able to pull away a little more clearly for the first time, having built up a lead of around 60 nautical miles over Charlie Dalin, who had been in the lead for a long time, at midday on Friday with fabulous speeds of well over 20 knots. At that point, there were still around 1250 nautical miles to go to New York. Boris Herrmann ("Malizia - Seaexplorer") and Damien Seguin ("Groupe Apicil") came closest to keeping up with the high speed of the Pacemakers on "Paprec Arkéa".
By midday on 3 May, Boris Herrmann had moved up to fourth place and was just over a nautical mile behind third-placed Brit Samantha "Sam" Davies. She in turn was already chasing second-placed Charlie Dalin, who had fallen back a little, ten nautical miles ahead of her. So while Yoann Richomme seemed to be gaining ground at the front, the attackers behind him on the west course were closing the gap in the battle for the podium places.
My morale is high. I have a position that I like." Yoann Richomme
As weaker winds are expected for the final section to the finish line, in which strong changes are still possible, the current picture remains a snapshot. Nevertheless, Yoann Richomme was openly delighted with his clear lead, which he saw as a reward given the brutal conditions of the last 36 hours: "My morale is high, I have a position that I like. I will do everything I can to hold on to this leading position until the end, even if there is still a lot to do before the finish," said Richomme on Thursday evening.
I'm more in full throttle mode than calm mode." Charlie Dalin
In view of the situation, Charlie Dalin has changed his strategy. The clever mind and studied designer, who had announced a rather conservative approach to the current Transat CIC after missing the 2023 Transats due to illness so that he could finish the race "the way I need to", now said: "I'm in full throttle mode rather than calm mode." His forecast for the long and demanding final sprint reveals what lies ahead for the Transat fleet. Dalin says: "Even though we should be done with the very strong winds now, there will be a lot more manoeuvring than in the first part of the race. It's not necessarily going to be the most relaxed time."
Relief after a pressurised few days
The leaders sailed in cold northerly winds on Friday as they push westwards out of the easterly system and into increasingly weaker winds. The three-way battle between Sam Davies, Boris Herrmann and Paul Meilhat, who is in fifth place behind Richomme and Dalin, looks like a revival of the Ocean Race. There, Sam Davies had supported Paul Meilhat on "Biotherm". All three know each other well and are currently continuing their competition solo again.
Switzerland's Justine Mettraux ("Teamwork-Team SNEF") was in tenth place at midday on Friday, just under 170 nautical miles behind, with her compatriot Alan Roura ("Hublot") in 13th place ahead of "Macsf" skipper Isabelle Joschke. As the best non-foiler, Tanguy Le Turquais has moved up to 12th place with "Lazare". His nearest competitor Benjamin Ferré has a technical problem on "Monoyeur - Duo for a Job") and is planning to stop for repairs.
With Ian Lipinski ("Crédit Mutuel"), the Class40 also has a leader who has recently been able to increase his lead. The Frenchman had a nine nautical mile lead over Ambrogio Beccaria on "Alla Grande Pirelli" on Friday afternoon. Ian Lipinski reported with a smile: "It was a great pleasure to arrive at the peak of the weather system, loosen the sheets and hoist the spinnaker after a few days of really difficult conditions." In the Class40, two soloists, Quentin Le Nabour ("Bleu Blanc Planète Location") and Aurélien Ducroz ("Crosscall"), have now officially retired.
