13th place was not on the wish list when Jérémie Beyou started the 9th Vendée Globe on 8 November with his impressive Imoca "Charal" - the 44-year-old wanted more, much more. Alongside the "Hugo Boss" skipper Alex Thomson, who later retired, he was one of the pre-start favourites and had his sights set on at least a podium finish. But instead of the hoped-for demonstration of strength, an early break in a row following a collision forced Beyou to turn back to the start and finish harbour of Les Sables-d'Olonne. It was not only his sponsors who gave him credit for the fact that the stumbled rider and his land crew decided to start again despite being hopelessly behind (9 days, 2 hours and 50 minutes after the field).
Under these circumstances, Beyou was able to make up a lot of the ground he had lost and put in an impressive race, which presented the initially lone hunter with major challenges, especially in the first phase. Looking at his official total sailing time of 89 days, 18 hours, 55 minutes and 58 seconds at the finish, Jérémie Beyou was not far off a new best time. If you mentally subtract his aforementioned delay - i.e. the time for sailing back to Les Sables and the repair days until the restart on 17 November at 17:10 - this gives Beyou a net sailing time of 80 days, 16 hours, 5 minutes and 58 seconds. Based on this theoretical total performance, six boats were faster in comparison.
The former favourite has made it: Jérémie Beyou crossed the finish line of the 9th Vendée Globe on Saturday morning in thirteenth place. The unusual course of his race makes him see the Vendée Globe with different eyes...
Jérémie Beyou: "I am proud!"
Jérémie Beyou, who had to audibly and visibly bite his way through the first few weeks of the race before visibly regaining his joy of racing, appeared relaxed at the finish on Saturday morning (6 February), happily reunited with his family and his team and reconciled with the Vendée Globe, which tested him so hard in this edition. "It was a fabulous new experience for me," said Beyou. "I was asked about my worst memories. But you only remember the good times. I'm super proud and super happy with everything I've had to go through. It wasn't easy psychologically. You're preparing for something that's supposed to be a life highlight. This time with 'Charal', with this team and with this boat, I thought my chance had come. You just can't get it out of your head. The thoughts stay and move you. But at some point, the positive thoughts take over. And then you're in the middle of the story and just enjoying the moment. It's a long-lasting experience and you go through all the typical conditions of a Vendée Globe. I'm in a much better state today than I was 80 days ago at the restart."
The race to catch up as motivation
Commenting on the race, Beyou said: "Reconnecting with the fleet was very important for me because I felt very isolated at the start of the race. It's nicer with opponents because otherwise you're just out there chasing records but not taking part in the Vendée Globe. It was important to catch up because that provides additional motivation. But it wasn't that easy, because the others are sailing well too. Let's get that straight: Anyone who takes part in the Vendée Globe and qualifies for it is there because they know how to sail well. When I pushed the speed up a bit, you could see that they were trying to put up resistance. You can't always win in sport, especially not in sailing. It was Yannick who won the race brilliantly, but there will be new opportunities for me. I had to sail nine Solitaires du Figaro to win the race. I don't know how many Vendée Globes it will take. But that's my story."
Commenting on the outcome of the race, Beyou said: "There are no rules in this race. If you look at the final podium line-up, without wishing to offend anyone, not many people would have bet on it. In my experience, I'm not one to give up easily before I've reached my goal. So if it takes nine editions, I'll probably be around for a while. I hope I can be there for the next edition. When it was time for me to get back into the race, I could have been pissed off because what I had experienced wasn't easy to manage. But I went out there with humility and found pride in fighting the small daily battles. Like the day I had to climb up the mast. I hate that! But I was proud of myself when I did it. It all made me love this race even more now. And the small frustration about the placing makes me want to do it again next time."
Jérémie Beyou: "My idol is Michael Jordan"
"In previous Vendée Globe races, I hardly communicated with my opponents. When you're fighting at the front, it's also a psychological battle. When you interact with your rivals, you might reveal your weaknesses. So you prefer to batten down the hatches. But if you sail behind, the pressure is less. I wanted to share, I wanted to see their point of view and understand their actions. My idol is Michael Jordan: he plays to win, or he doesn't play. And now I've discovered that you can play not to win, but to complete a project with all your ideas and your convictions and to satisfy yourself. All these skippers are competing for that. Before, it seemed inappropriate for me to take part in a race without any chance of winning. But that is and remains a great challenge. And they remain great skippers who deserve everything."
Jérémie Beyou's plans for the coming weeks? "First of all, chilling with the family! I want to spend time with them and my dog and relax at home. The season will start again soon. This recovery period shouldn't be underestimated, because a race like this exhausts you. Once I've recovered, I'll only have one wish: to find the next start line!"
Click here for the tracker and the results (please click!). Samantha Davies' partner Romain Attanasio ("Pure - Best Western Hotels and Resorts") is expected to be the next skipper in Les Sables-d'Olonne today. Davies herself was eliminated following a collision, as was the German-French sailor Isabelle Joschke, who is now sailing back to the finish harbour of Les Sables alongside Davies.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
