“The Défi is the first step towards the next Vendée Globe…”

15 boats signed up for this Défi Azimut Lorient Agglomération and there were even 17 boats for today’s Runs. It must be very satisfying after the slimmer line-ups at the start of the season?

“We’ve had some Défis with fewer boats and some with more too. It’s not about the quantity, rather it is the quality of the fleet that counts. Here today, we have all those in the top 10 in the Route du Rhum, which is the main event this season. The fact that we’re witnessing a generational shift means that it’s going to be all the more interesting. Aside from the Vendée Arctique back in the spring, the last single-handed race on the event schedule was the circumnavigation of the globe in 2024. This Défi Azimut 2026 is the first step towards the next Vendée Globe. 

Some other excellent skippers will join the fray next year of course, but the bulk of the gang is here. We’re also welcoming sailors who are just beginning their journey (Pierre-Louis Attwell, Masa Suzuki…), and will be competing in their first race so it’ll be intriguing to see how they measure up and how they get to grips with sailing their boat offshore single-handed.”

The Défi Azimut runs like clockwork and alongside Jean-Marie Corteville you’re used to trying to improve on something every year. What was the plan for this 16th edition? 

“There are two elements. The location: we’re fortunate to have had this Maison des Skippers at our disposal since the start of the year. It’s an excellent tool. Within the scope of the Défi, we’re going to be able to put it to good use and we’re already seeing that it works more efficiently, in direct contact with the basin where the IMOCAs are moored. The second element relates to the live coverage, which we’ve been experimenting with for the past three years. The live feed for the Runs was broadcast today by France tv.fr. This partnership with a major broadcaster is testimony to the fact that the Défi Azimut is reaching a degree of maturity with some significant digital tools to follow the racing live.”

Just before the Défi, Lorient hosted the finish of The Ocean Race Atlantic last week? Did the new IMOCA entries impress you?

“Firstly, I’d like to give some credit to the two teams who were in New York because building a new boat is a mammoth task. Those two boats, Team Malizia and DMG Mori Global One, were pushed very hard, yet they suffered little or no damage, so congratulations to the teams. In terms of outright performance, they were good during certain phases and they were never more than around twenty miles behind. On top of that, over the race as a whole, competitors like 11th Hour or United by The Ocean, which are very solid boats that were helmed incredibly well (respectively second in the Transat Café l’Or and winner of the Tour de l’Europe in 2025, editor’s note), are able to hold their own and are ahead on the podium once again. In all the transition phases, they were naturally very comfortable. I don’t know what the learning curve is like on the new boats but for now the competition is wide open, just as it was in the recent races where there was a variety of designs.”

The two seasons post-Vendée Globe are always an opportunity for a reset. How do you view this one compared to 2017 or 2021?

“I recall that 2016 was fairly slack. 2020 was very special though as we were coming out of lockdown and there was a sense of euphoria that followed. We didn’t have the same euphoria in 2025. There’s not the same carefree feel to it and our reliance on private sponsorship is forcing us to question ourselves. In 2022, we had 39 active boats compared with 27 today, so that’s a 30% drop. The time is ripe for asking questions. The rules between now and the Vendée Globe 2028 are set in stone, but for the next one, now is the time to make some decisions. With an ecosystem, which was capable of generating 200-million Euros for a Vendée Globe, it’s important to keep a close eye on things…”

Several press articles have mooted the idea of a moratorium on boat construction, which has sent those in Sailing Valley into a spin. Is IMOCA indebted to the marine industry?

“We’re at the heart of an ecosystem. An ecosystem which is managing to convince sponsors to invest thanks to races, which they expect a return from. To take part in these races, the teams drum up sizeable budgets, which are invested in communication, research, technology and sport… Nobody drives a Ferrari in our field. 

IMOCA sits at a crossroads to all that. As such, we aren’t indebted, but we do have to mull the matter over. Is our model right? Are we investing enough in communication? Are the events up to par? The picture today is that we’re 30% down. There’s the context of course, but you have to be able to think about these things and come up with a detailed analysis. We are going to carry out this analysis. It may well tell us that everything’s alright. If that is not the case though, we’ll have to call ourselves into question. One thing for sure is that it’s a complex issue and we won’t find the solutions in press articles…”