The new formula for the Tour de France à la Voile launched last year, is attracting the interest of runners, but also of communities. "All the host cities of the 2015 edition have asked to host the Tour de France à la Voile again in the very short term, which is indicative of the new dynamic of the event." explained Jean-Baptiste Durier, director of the Tour de France à la Voile, during the presentation of the event.
Three new acts
Within the framework of the renewal by thirds, the Tour will make its return in front of the cliffs of Seine-Maritime, in Dieppe. The Diam 24s will also discover two new acts: South Brittany, first of all, and the mythical site of Baden-Golfe du Morbihan, in front of Ile aux Moines and on the Grande Bleue, Hyères and its mythical islands, including Porquerolles, in the heart of the Toulon Provence Méditerranée agglomeration.
As every year, the course will include 9 acts with a strong Mediterranean consonance in 2016. " As every year, we must insist on certain parts of the coastline, essentially for reasons of sporting and logistical coherence, within the imposed framework of the 3 weeks of races, while remaining faithful to our principle of equity between the different maritime facades over several editions" recalled Jean-Baptiste Durier. The other acts of this 2016 Tour were already stage cities last year: Dunkirk, Roscoff, Roses, Gruissan, Marseille and Nice, which will host the Grand Finale for the third consecutive time.
The Amaury Sport Organisation teams succeeded in changing the face of the event last year without altering what makes the Tour de France à la Voile so special, namely bringing together sailors from all walks of life. This will be the case again this year with a mix that shows how attractive the event is.
As proof, most of the teams present last year will be back on the starting line next summer: Filière Team France, Franck Cammas' team, which will field a team of young hopefuls this year. Fred Guilmin and Damien Iehl, who finished third last year, will start in 2016 under the colors of Crédit Mutuel Bretagne alongside Nicolas Troussel, who is making his return to the Tour. Quentin Delapierre and Mathieu Salomon will be on Team Lorina Golfe du Morbihan, which is also entering a second boat with Solune Robert and Riwan Perron. The Spindrift team, currently engaged in the Jules Verne Trophy, has a place reserved for it as the title holder.
In addition, the young people of the APCC will again defend the colors of their club as Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat), Aurélien Ducroz (COVED), Fred Duthil (Grandeur Nature Véranda), Damien Seguin (FDJ Foundation), Benoit Champanach (Accor Hôtel Natixis Yacht Club Saint-Lunaire), Emeric Dary (Dynamique Homkia), Sébastien Rogues (Team Engie), Charles Hainneville (Installux Aluminium), Loic Féquet associated with Franck-Yves Escoffier (SNBSM Espoir Compétition Saint-Malo), Arnaud Daval (Techneau) or Daniel Souben (Extrem Team Morbihan). Dunkerque Voile and WestCourtage will also have a Diam 24 in their colors in 2016.
More news
Some rules will evolve. For example, for the sequence of races and the drama, the starts of the Nautical Stadium races will automatically be given under the black flag, any false start being eliminatory, as is the case in other sports such as athletics or swimming. In addition, the number of referees on the water will be significantly increased, with the integration of international judges, to allow, during the nautical stadiums, the two groups of qualifying races to follow each other even better, or even to overlap slightly, in order to offer an even more dense and continuous show to the spectators.
Finally, the great innovation of this year 2016 will be the implementation of a Super-Final that will conclude the days of the nautical stadium. After the qualifying races, only the six best teams will stay on the water to compete in this Super-Final, at the end of which the counters will be reset to zero. The first six places of the day will be decided in a single race, which is unheard of in a sport that usually favors averages over several races. The first to cross the line will simply win the day.
