Saint-Malo (France) (AFP) – The 115 sailors taking part in the Route du Rhum set off off Saint-Malo to attack the Atlantic on Sunday, for a perilous start to the crossing already marked by the collision of Violette Dorange with a competitor.

Published on: 01/11/2026 - 2:04 p.m. Modified on: 01/11/2026 - 9:44 p.m.

In the middle of the evening, the young Tom Laperche, at the helm of the SVR Lazartigue, took the lead ahead of two of his main competitors in Ultim, Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire) and Anthony Marchand (Actual) while at the rear of the fleet Dorange headed towards Roscoff (Finistère) for a technical stopover.

Laperche, a former protégé of François Gabart, negotiated a little better than the others the passage of an obligatory gate at the foot of Cape Fréhel, before pointing his bow towards the Celtic Sea to the northwest.

"That's it, let's go for the Route du Rhum! The wind has died down a little but it will pick up in a short time, heading towards the exit of the Channel", declared Le Cléac'h in a video sent from the edge in the middle of the afternoon, a few hours before being flashed at 38 knots (70 km/h) north of Ouessant.

At the helm of a brand new maxi-trimaran, title holder Charles Caudrelier started very cautiously, notably losing ground during maneuvers, but he still managed to stay in contact with the leaders all day.

First racing incidents

In a wind that gradually strengthened, vigilance was required within a compact fleet, to avoid damage as much as possible and make numerous sail changes.

But despite the light weather when the gun went off at 1:02 p.m. - around ten knots downwind and calm seas - it didn't take long for the first incidents to arrive.

At the helm of the Imoca Initiatives Coeur, 25-year-old sailor Violette Dorange damaged her starboard foil by colliding with Romain Pilliard's Use it Again trimaran, off the island of Bréhat.

“Both skippers are doing well, but both boats require repairs. They are currently heading towards Roscoff, where the Initiatives-Cœur team is waiting for them,” said Dorange’s entourage in a press release early in the evening.

Unlimited technical stops are permitted within the first 150 miles after departure and boats can remain in port as long as they wish to repair before departing.

But with this damage, Violette Dorange sees her ambition of top 10 on the queen of translantic ships being seriously compromised.

The crowd all the way

Helped by historically mild weather for the start of the Route du Rhum, the party still lasted all day in and around Saint-Malo to celebrate the future exploits of the 115 competitors.

“These two weeks in the village have been great. I really like these sharing phases before the race starts. Now, it’s good, it’s time to go and find our solitary bubble,” said Anthony Marchand on Sunday morning just before boarding.

Since October 20, at least one million people have visited the race village, according to the organization, which will deliver a consolidated report on Monday.

In Fréhel, 11,000 people, according to the prefecture, admired on Sunday the last maneuvers visible from land of the fleet, a mix of professionals and amateurs, old monohulls and ultra-modern trimarans.

It was the latter, the Ultim, giants capable of reaching more than 90 km/h on the water, who logically escaped first towards the front. They can hope to complete the crossing in six days, while the slowest sailboats will take nearly a month to arrive in Pointe-à-Pitre.

Behind, around twenty sailboats from the Imoca fleet, the Vendée Globe monohulls, want to test themselves two years before a new non-stop solo round-the-world trip.

Sunday evening, race favorite Sam Goodchild (Macif), at the helm of the winning boat of the 2024/2025 Vendée Globe, took command.

Just behind, the Italian Ambrogio Beccaria (Allagrande Mapei) and Elodie Bonafous (Petits Princes - Queguiner) were hot on his heels.

© 2026 AFP

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