Adrien Hardy (Agir Recouvrement) wins this 2 e stage of the Solitaire Urgo Le Figaro (Gijon - Concarneau) by crossing the finish line. This Wednesday 7th June at 1 h 42 min 45 s. The skipper of Agir Recouvrement took 3 days 09 hours 33 minutes and 46 seconds to complete the 418 miles of course, via the Chaussée de Sein. And it was not long before he retained his first place, as only 54 seconds separated him from second-placed Erwan Tabarly (Armor Lux). The podium is completed by Nicolas Lunven (Generali), who finished just 49 seconds behind the duo.
After three days and three and a half nights at sea, the final between Belle-Île and Concarneau brought together the 43 Figaro racers and the finish was more than tight with half the fleet crossing the line in less than an hour. It all started strangely though after a delayed start ahead of Gijón due to the lack of wind. The fleet of forty-three solo sailors were struggling to get off the Spanish coast and by nightfall they were splitting into three groups, which would lock themselves in a windless bubble.
"I'm the one who won this stage when I was far from being the one in front for a long time. There were a lot of leaders and I wasn't one of them: I was just good for the finish. I'm disappointed that I didn't understand everything about strategy, but I gave a lot on the boat. I thought I would finish between 6 e and 8 e . I had a lot of rigour at the end of the stage, that's what allowed me to make the difference. I know what it's like to be up front and get robbed of the victory at the end. We were all close, we had to be good at the end. I went to the rocks. I felt it. I felt it. I just love the game of racing. I just love the game of racing. The passage in the Chaussée de Sein was a great moment!" said Adrien Hardy.
A faultless course
Adrien Hardy has achieved a superb course by constantly playing with the wind shifts, taking the ascendancy from the start, unfortunately locking himself in a soft wind during the first night, and then resuming the thread of the game by refocusing. The skipper of Agir Recouvrement only came back to the leading pack, making a superb tactical move on landing on the Occidentale de Sein, skirting the Raz de Sein and the rocks of the island to protect himself from a tidal current so unfavourable that it cost Sébastien Simon the leadership just a few cables from the course buoy.
It was during the descent to Belle-Île and on the way back up to Groix and then Concarneau, that the skipper managed to nibble metre by metre on the delta that he had on the leading trio. And on entering Concarneau Bay, Adrien Hardy shifted slightly as the breeze dropped off to overtake the duo, who were battling it out from Groix at the front of the fleet. This victory on this second leg, the fourth in nine participations, confirms that he remains Nicolas Lunven's most dangerous opponent, who had beaten him by just 13'23 in Gijón..
Nicolas Lunven consolidates his leading position
This third place on the 48 e edition of La Solitaire URGO Le Figaro is enabling Nicolas Lunven to maintain his leadership by only losing a minute and 35 seconds to Adrien Hardy, even though the gaps with his most incisive rivals are not going to be very substantial. However, the skipper of Generali wasn't celebrating after the start from Gijón when the wind dropped off a few dozen miles from the start line on the first night. However, the sailor from Vannes immediately drew on his resources to get back at the head of the fleet led by Sébastien Simon.
