Thomas Ruyant (LInkedOut) is king of the Transats after record breaking Route du Rhum IMOCA win.
Thomas Ruyant, solo skipper of LinkedOut, was unofficially crowned ‘King of the Transats’ when he won the 38 boat IMOCA class on the 12th Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe.
Ruyant set a new course record of 11d 17h 36m 25secs . . . 11hrs 02min 30secs quicker than François Gabart in 2014.
Emerging at the top of the biggest and most competitive IMOCA fleet ever mustered for the Route du Rhum Ruyant finished 2 hours 1 minute and 46 seconds ahead of Charlie Dalin.
And he was 3hrs 24mins 30secs ahead of third placed Jérémie Beyou (Charal 2) and 5hrs 54 mins 49secs before Kevin Escoffier (Holcim-PRB).
Hollow eyed, wobbly legged and exhausted after setting an infernal, unbeatable pace especially over the last three days and nights of the 3,542 nautical miles course from Saint Malo to Pointe-à-PItre.
Ruyant received universal acclaim from his rivals who finished in his wake.
He adds what he called ‘the biggest win of my career; to a fistful of transatlantic successes now adding to last year’s two handed Transat Jacques Vabre which he won with Morgan Lagravière on a similar course from Le Havre to Martinique, and his solo Route du Rhum win in Class40 in 2010.
But the 41 year old skipper from Dunkirk, who us a very rare ‘nordist’ in a solo racing world in which most top sailors are Breton, has also won the Mini Transat in 2009 and two Figaro Transatlantics.
A late starter to offshore and ocean racing Ruyant, who has the wiry build of a jockey and sails with an extraordinay instensity and focus, admitted he pushed himself to the limit, stepping up to a new level to overhaul leader Charlie Dalin on Friday morning, holding off the pre-race favourite on Apivia, the clean sweep of all three IMOCA solo titles of 2022.
