Establish an initial hierarchy
With the arrival of several new designs in the IMOCA class, this Azimut Challenge will provide an opportunity to gauge everyone's performance. The 628-mile course will be sailed in a variety of rough conditions, which could well give the outsiders a place in the sun.
Antoine Mermod, president of the IMOCA class, explains: "The Défi Azimut is an exciting crossroads. It's the first confrontation in 2023 that will bring together the entire line-up, and will enable us to establish an initial hierarchy."
Four favorites
One of the favorites is undoubtedly Charlie Dalin, two-time Défi Azimut title-holder on Apivia. Now equipped with a new boat, Macif Santé Prévoyance, the latest Verdier design, he has already shown his colors in the Rolex Fastnet. One month after launching his boat, Charlie Dalin, accompanied by Pascal Bidégorry, won the race ahead of Yoann Richomme.
The latter, in partnership with Yann Eliès, placed his trust in the Antoine Koch and Finot-Conq duo for his IMOCA Paprec Arkea. He has not experienced the structural problems of Thomas Ruyant's For People, designed by the same pair of architects. After a "glitch" in the Bermuda 1000 Race, the two-time winner of the Solitaire du Figaro had the hull bottom and planks reinforced.
Thomas Ruyant, whose boat is currently under construction, will be Sam Goodchild's co-skipper on For The Planet. As a reminder, this is his former boat, which holds the Route du Rhum-Transat Jacques Vabre double.
Last but not least, Jérémie Beyou on Charal is out for revenge on the Fastnet. Due to headsail problems, he was unable to compete with the rest of the fleet. On his versatile Manuard design, he will be accompanied by Franck Cammas.
Sharp duos who can compete
While these four IMOCA boats are the favorites, there are also a number of strong contenders. Starting with Biotherm (Paul Meilhat and Mariana Lobato) and Malizia - Sea Explorer (Boris Herrmann and Will Harris), who took part in The Ocean Race. With more than 30,000 miles on the clock, they have sailed all the world's seas, and in particular encountered virulent weather conditions.
There will also be Initiatives-C?ur (Sam Davies and Jackson Bouttell), V and B - Monbana - Mayenne (Maxime Sorel and Christopher Pratt), l'Occitane en Provence, Clarisse Crémer and Alan Roberts' ex-Apivia, which boasts larger foils thanks to its fronting clause, Teamwork (Justine Mettraux and Julien Villion), which is still in the running, and Maître Coq V. After two months without sailing following his accident, Le Rochelais will be accompanied by Julien Pulvé. For him, the gaps between the recent boats will be small, as he explains: "There's very little difference between the ten or so boats that can aim for the podium. Some may have come out lighter than others, but they're obliged to strengthen. The gaps are closing and it's one thing to do well for 48 hours, it's quite another to keep up the pace over three months."
It will also be an opportunity to see Stand as One on the water, skippered by Eric Bellion and supported by Martin Le Pape. This scow-designed, foilless Raison design will enable us to calibrate gains and losses in relation to foilers, as Martin Le Pape explains: "The question is first of all to quantify what we're losing on the reaching compared with the foilers in the breeze, and for that, the next 48 hours will be instructive. As for the rest, we'll need medium conditions and above all VMG downwind to make the most of the boat's qualities..." And these are the conditions the fleet will encounter after the second course mark.
The Défi Azimut will also be an opportunity to discover the potential of converted IMOCA boats. This is the case for Groupe Apicil (Damien Seguin and Laurent Bourguès) and Prysmian Group (Giancarlo Pedote and Gaston Morvan), two 2015 VPLP-Verdier designs now equipped with large foils and a new bow. This is also the case for DMG Mori skippered by Kojiro Shiraishi, and Nicolas Troussel's Corum l'Epargne, with its new foils, new hull bottom and revised structure.
Daggerboard boats that can hold surprises
Although on paper they are less powerful than foilers, the daggerboard boats, launched between 2006 and 2011, can hold some surprises. They may be quite similar, but their skippers have very different sporting CVs. In this category, we find Tanguy Le Turquais, partnered by Félix de Navacelle on Lazare, Louis Duc and Rémi Aubrun (Fives Group-Lantana Environnement), Sébastien Marsset and Sophie Faguet (Foussier - Mon Courtier Energie), Benjamin Ferré and Pierre Le Roy, who surely have the best daggerboard boat with Monnoyeur-Duo for a Job, the former MACIF, winner of the 2012 Vendée Globe. Manu Cousin, accompanied by Clément Giraud, will also be able to gauge the extent of the work carried out on his old Farr Coup de pouce-Giffard Manutention design: mast and daggerboards moved back, ballast tanks transformed, new rudders...
