While bringing a boat to the start of the upcoming Vendée Globe was still the top priority after the separation from Clarisse Crémer, the sponsor has now surprisingly announced its withdrawal from the 2024 edition instead of introducing a new skipper.
The French financial institution Banque Populaire has been involved in the world of sailing for over 30 years and currently operates an Ultim trimaran in addition to the Imoca. The skipper is Armel Le Cléac'h, who won the Vendée Globe 2016, among others. The ambitions for the upcoming edition were also high. Although no new Imoca had been built for the best female sailor of the 2020 edition, Charlie Dalin's "Apivia" was one of the fastest boats currently available. Nevertheless, the conditions were no longer right "to be able to tackle the Vendée Globe in peace", according to the statement. There really hasn't been much peace and quiet, at least in recent weeks.
Banque Populaire continues to be criticised
After Clarisse Crémer's separation from the skipper due to motherhood became known, a statement by Crémer on social networks triggered a wave that went far beyond the borders of the internet. In addition to thousands and thousands of comments and a petition, there were also public reactions from almost all the stars of the class. The tenor was that the new rules put women at a disadvantage, and the sponsor was also at the centre of the criticism. Other female sailors in the Imoca class such as Isabelle Joschke, Pip Hare and Sam Davies were particularly appalled. The latter emphasised:"I will do everything I can to support female sailors in the Imoca class and at the Vendée Globe. I want to convince sponsors that there is no reason not to support women in sailing."
French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra also spoke out and stated on her Twitter account that she was in contact with all sides to find a solution. Banque Populaire, a co-operative bank belonging to the French BPCE Group, stated that it was reconsidering its position. The reaction shown now would have occurred to very few people. And the criticism is still not dying down, with some Facebook users speculating that the bank will forever have a bad reputation in the world of sport. The last sentence in particular of the statement that has now been published is likely to feel like a stab in the back for some:"Banque Populaire will continue to play an active role in the work to improve the position of women in sport, particularly in ocean racing."
How did you get kicked out?
According to the press release dated 1 February 2023, the reasons for the termination were Crémer's pregnancy and the associated consequences. Due to her pregnancy, the sailor had not collected enough nautical miles in the past year to have realistic prospects of qualifying for the Vendeé Globe 2024. Crémer contradicted this in her statement and instead maintained that she could make it.
The dispute is due to a rule change by the organisers of the Vendeé Globe. Until the 2020 edition, it had been enough to complete the regatta to qualify for the next edition. Clarisse Crémer even managed this in 2020 as the best woman. For 2024, however, everyone must now collect nautical miles, regardless of whether a Vendée Globe has already been completed. This qualification is completed at selected regattas in the Imoca class.
Due to the complicated qualification rules, in which many ignore an important aspect, the sponsor rightly saw Crémer's qualification in jeopardy and reacted accordingly. The outrage was nevertheless great - are Banque Populaire and the organisers of the Vendée Globe really to blame, or is it the sailor herself? In this article, we explain the dispute, the qualification procedure and the rule change:
It is still unclear what the main protagonist Clarisse Crémer is up to and whether she still has her sights set on qualifying for the Vendée Globe 2024. The 33-year-old has not yet commented on the events on her channels. It is also questionable what will happen with the new Imoca "Banque Populaire XII" (ex. "Apivia").
