Yoann Richomme (Hellowork/Le Telegramme), crossed the finish line of the 542 nm first stage of the 50th edition of La Solitaire URGO Le Figaro, off Kinsale’s Old Head, Ireland, on Thursday.
The British sailor, Alan Roberts from Southampton, finished 16th, 1 hour 49 mins 09 secs behind the leaders on one of the longest and most challenging legs of recent years which started on Sunday from Nantes, France.
Richomme, who lead around the Fastnet Rock, took the first gun after 4d 03h 36m and 21s, just 1 minute and 13 seconds ahead of rookie Tom Laperche (Bretagne CMB Espoir).
Following closely across the finish, in bright sunshine and on the heels of A dying 10-12knot westerly breeze, was France’s 2012 470 Olympian Pierre Leboucher (Guyot Environment) who was 3 minutes and 47 seconds behind winner Richomme.
With three more legs to go Roberts is in the mix having finished in the top half of the fleet making an admirable recovery after getting his keel caught around a lobster pot for an hour and a half at the start of the race.
His decision to go to the right hand side of the exclusion zone near Ushant meant he managed to pull himself up through the fleet. With half the fleet finishing many hours behind, he has a comfortable gap.
Predominantly light and very changeable winds prevailed through the marathon four days and four nights of racing offering very little opportunity to rest.
Expected to finish into the picturesque Irish haven on Wednesday, the stage overran by a full 24 hours.
Leg 2 starts on Sunday 8 June at 13:00 from Kinsale to Roscoff, France. Meanwhile the shore crew jump into action to repair any damage and Roberts will enjoy a good nights rest.
La Solitaire URGO Le Figaro – Top 10, Leg 1, Nantes to Kinsale (45 entries):
1 – Yoann Richomme – HelloWork – Groupe Télégramme – 4 days, 3 hours, 35 mins, 8 seconds
2 – Tom Laperche (Bizuth) – Bretagne CMB Espoir – 4 days, 3 hours, 36 mins, 21 seconds
3 – Pierre Leboucher – Guyot Environnement – 4 days, 3 hours, 38 mins, 55 seconds
4- Eric Péron – French Touch – 4 days, 3 hours, 45 mins, 42 seconds
5 – Corentin Douguet – NF Habitat – 4 days, 3 hours, 46 mins, 13 seconds
6 – Loïck Peyron – Action Enfance – 4 days, 3 hours, 56 mins, 51 seconds
7 – Damien Cloarec – @Damien Cloarec Skipper – 4 days, 3 hours, 59 mins, 32 seconds
8 – Michel Desjoyeaux – Lumibird – 4 days, 3 hours, 59 mins, 41 seconds
9 – Martin Le Pape – Skipper Macif 2017 – 4 days, 4 hours, 00 mins, 12 seconds
10 – Benjamin Schwartz (Bizuth) – Action Contre La Faim – 4 days, 4 hours, 26 mins, 23 seconds
Other:
16th – Alan Roberts – SEACAT SERVICES – 4 days 5 hours 24 minutes 17 seconds
28th – Will Harris
39th – Tom Dolan