Défi Azimut 2026: Who Will Succeed Macif Santé Prévoyance?
Who will succeed Sam Goodchild and Loïs Berrehar, the 2025 champions? Charal, which is benefiting from a new hull design, could be his strongest competitor, and Jérémie Beyou can legitimately dream of adding a fifth Défi Azimut title to his list of achievements!
Who will succeed Macif Santé Prévoyance, the 2025 champion? Charal, which is benefiting from a new hull, could be its strongest competitor, and Jérémie Beyou can legitimately dream of adding a fifth Défi Azimut to his list of victories! The threat will also inevitably come from MACSF (Corentin Horeau), Allagrande Mapei (Ambrogio Beccaria), and Association Petits Princes-Queguiner (Elodie Bonafous). Also worth watching is the progress of Les P’tits Doudous, Armel Tripon’s VPLP-designed boat, which just came off the mold last year and is now fully race-ready. Three rookies are making their debut on the solo IMOCA scene: Pierre Louis Atwell (RESILIENT), Davy Beaudart (Bureau Vallée), and Japan’s Masa Suzuki (Milai-Furuno), who will have the chance to measure themselves against the category’s established contenders.
The results will be announced starting Wednesday, September 15, at 2:30 p.m., when the Défi Azimut kicks off with the Runs race in the Groix channels. This year, the speed of the boats—crewed with guests for this first race—will be available in real time on the website thanks to a high-frequency chip integrated into the Yellow Brick positioning beacons.
An in-depth look at the IMOCAs will also be featured during the 48 Hours event, starting Thursday, September 17, at 3:30 p.m., with interactive, downloadable maps enriched with content from the On-Board Reporters, who will be on board alongside the solo sailors. Male and female media representatives will now be led by Yann Riou (Polaryse), who has played a major role in establishing this profession and remains one of its leading experts.
Alongside Francis Le Goff and Pierre Haÿs, who, as last year, will serve as race directors, Christian Dumard will be the Défi’s weather consultant, particularly for this offshore race covering more than 500 miles—the final competitive event before the Route du Rhum Destination Guadeloupe.
All the Runs and the start of the 48-Hour Race will be broadcast live, available on YouTube and streamed via france.tv/sport 👇
Live coverage of the Azimut 48-Hour Solo Race