Transat Jacques Vabre: "Ultim King" Le Cléac'h to victory at the seventh attempt

In 14 days, 10 hours, 14 minutes and 50 seconds, Armel Le Cléac'h and Sébastien Josse finished the 16th Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre as the fastest crew. The French winners of the Ultim class were celebrated with fireworks in the Caribbean harbour of Fort-de-France on Martinique. The French duo crossed the finish line on the VPLP design "Maxi Banque Populaire XI" late on Sunday evening at 23:19 German time.

Flown at an average of 26.75 knots over 9,263 nautical miles!

The Ultim kings completed the theoretical 7,500 nautical mile course from Le Havre to Fort-de-France at an average speed of 21.66 knots in relation to the ideal line. In reality, they mastered 9,263 nautical miles with their "Maxi Banque Populaire XI", which was launched in 2021, at an average speed of 26.75 knots.

For 46-year-old skipper Armel Le Cléac'h, who has experienced many highs and also had to put up with a few low blows for twelve years for the Banque Populaire racing team, this is his first victory on the coffee route. Sébastien Josse has already won the Transat Jacques Vabre once in the multihull category in 2013. Back then, he sailed with the now beaten defending champion Charles Caudrelier on the MOD 70 "Edmond de Rothschild". Now Seb Josse is celebrating with Caudrelier's rival Armel Le Cléac'h.

It is a great satisfaction to win with this boat" (Armel Le Cléac'h)

The 32 metre long blue giant foiler had led the race from Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. In the dark, the Transat winners were racing towards Martinique at over 30 knots. Their desire to sail was evident from the start of the race. At the finish, Armel Le Cléac'h said: "It is a great satisfaction to win with this boat. It's been a long time since we've had a big win with Banque Populaire. Two years ago, we took part in the first race. Last year there was this difficult Route du Rhum where we had to turn round and repair ..."

The efforts and setbacks are now forgotten. Armel Le Cléac'h says: "This year we are reaping the fruits of our labour: all those details that we worked on with the team to optimise, become more reliable and finally show that we have good or even very good speeds. With Sébastien, these 14 days have flown by."

This Transat was not easy. You had to go and get it" (Sébastien Josse)

The winner was delighted. Sébastien Josse said in the winner's interview with the organisers: "There is a lot of satisfaction with the work that has been done. I've been sailing with Armel for two years. This race was not easy. You had to go for it. The gruelling exit from the English Channel, the Bay of Biscay. We are satisfied and happy with this performance. It's a good omen for the future."

Armel Le Cléac'h, winner of the Vendée Globe 2016/2017, emphasised the serious approach of his crew: "We said from the start that the Transat Jacques Vabre is not a preparation race. We didn't come here to test the boat. We came to win. It was a box to tick in the calendar. It wasn't easy to win, it was a battle. We were fully committed right to the end, didn't hold back with the boat and had good averages right to the end. To win with these boats now, you have to push them to their limits. We are undoubtedly the team that has sailed the most this year. We had quite a good run."

Beaten in the Transat this time: "SVR Lazartigue" and "Maxi Edmond de Rothschild"

Very early Monday morning, the ultimatum chaser "SVR Lazartigue" with François Gabart and Tom Laperche was expected to cross the finish line. By contrast, Charles Caudrelier and Erwan Israël on the pre-start favourite "Maxi Edmond de Rothschild" were already more than 1,000 nautical miles behind. Technical problems following a collision with an unknown object had contributed to this.

The arrival of the winners in Fort-de-France - here the "Ultim giants" Armel Le Cléac'h and Sébastien Josse are celebrated:

Greetings from Boris Herrmann and Will Harris from on board the "Malizia - Seaexlorer". The German-British duo sent the clip from Canary Islands waters on Sunday. Following the split of the Imoca fleet in the southern group, they are fighting to catch up with the top boats in the west and were in eleventh place on Monday night:

Click here for the live tracker and the interim results: