The winner’s first words: 'Yes, it’s a perfect race'

'Yes, it’s a perfect race. The boat and I made a great team. Macif is well-suited for this kind of exercise. It’s quite different from a transatlantic race, but I really like this format—it's like a short Figaro stage in an IMOCA, where there are lots of maneuvers and strategic choices.

I set off telling myself that everything was on the line right from the start. I needed to get a good start and not overthink things. That’s what I did, but unfortunately, two or three boats followed me, and we had to push the pace very hard, very fast. For those who couldn't do that—like Armel Tripon (Les P’tits Doudous), who had a minor sail issue on the line—it cost them the race right from the get-go. Passing the cargo ship right after the gun? Yes, that put me in the red. I hesitated to cross ahead, but I thought to myself that with everyone watching, if it went wrong, it wouldn't be very clever (laughs)! In any case, it put me in the red because bearing away behind it at 20 knots in an IMOCA, then luffing back up, and tacking twice to pass Groix is already quite intense!

The team never stops modifying the boat and developing it to try and go faster without losing its strengths, because everything is connected and it’s always a matter of compromise. We’re really happy to go fast upwind but also to be just as quick downwind, as we rounded the bottom mark (the BXA buoy) in the lead. Ambrogio closed within 5 miles of the mark thanks to a little cloud that annoyed me at the time, but it really motivated me to keep him behind on the upwind leg back up. We all know 'Bogie' never gives up—you can see it from the outside—and you have to be in top shape and make zero mistakes to beat him.
This is the final solo rehearsal before the Route du Rhum, and delivering a flawless race here is a real plus. The courses and the stakes aren't the same, and quite a few things change, but I’m proud to have won here.'