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Solitaire du Figaro

Antoine Koch wins leg 4 in Dieppe

Nicolas Lunven remporte la course à sa 3e participation

Wednesday 19 August 2009Christophe Guigueno

All the versions of this article: [English] [français]

This Wednesday at 2:12 pm local time, Antoine Koch (Sopra Group)was the first solo sailor to end the 40th Solitaire du Figaro Solitaire du Figaro #LaSolitaire leg 4 between Dingle in Ireland and Dieppe in Normandy. Arrived 4rth, 5’44’’ behind, Nicolas Lunven wins the race !

Nicolas Troussel (Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne), winner of the last edition of la Solitaire, finished 2nd in Dieppe, few seconds ahead of Thomas Rouxel (Défi Mousquetaires).

Nicolas Lunven (CGPI), the leader of the race from Dingle sailed toward place 4. At 26 yo, Nicolas Lunven is the winner of the race, finishing only 5 minutes and 44 seconds behind Antoine Koch. All his competitors for the title are behind such as Yann Eliès (Generali), Frédéric Duthil (Bbox Bouygues Telecom), Jérémie Beyou (Bernard Paoli) et Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit Air).

For the final podium, Yann Elies, 20th in Dieppe, keeps the second place overall few minutes ahead of Fred Duthil (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) who lead all the leg toward Normandy before losing few minutes in the last miles when the wind went down. But Duthil, 3rd in 2008 and 2nd in 2007 finishes again on the podium of the race.

Ch.Guigueno

- Nicoloas Lunven : “If you had told me a month ago that I would arrive in Dieppe the winner I would not have been able to believe it, given the quality of the field. I wouldn’t have dared hope for it. The fight has been intense right up to the last few miles. I’m proud to have beaten Michel Desjoyeaux, because he sets the standard for offshore sailing, but also to have beaten the others because this edition has been quite extraordinary. I think I must have drawn heavily on my lucky stars, and I shan’t be playing the lottery tomorrow, because there would be no point!”

Non french sailors news

Also wearing the broadest of smiles was British skipper Nigel King, storming through the final leg to finish in an impressive sixth place, only 9 minutes and 39 seconds behind Koch. Consistently in touch with the front of the fleet, King has progressed leg on leg to the point where he can mix it with the best of them: ”I’ve just kept trying, kept on learning, and maybe over the course of the race developed the confidence to try new things, new ways of setting up the boat and sailing her. In Coruna I spent a whole day just looking at the other boats, studying photographs to see how the other guys do things. Not being able to have the pure time on the water that some of these other guys have, I’ve been having to learn as I go along, so to make this kind of progress is really encouraging.” The fact that King’s campaign has been largely self-funded makes his performance all the more impressive, his budget only a fraction of the size of many of his opponents’. Now thoroughly hooked on the race, his search for a sponsor will continue apace.

Fellow Briton Jonny Malbon (Artemis) finished the leg in 36th place, 1 hour and 54 minutes after the winner. After a poor start he clawed his way back up the fleet, finishing in his best position of the four legs, and continuing a consistently upward trend.

- Press info www.lasolitaire.com


Etape 4 - Dingle / Dieppe - Départ le 16/08/2009 à 13h14 (fr)

Rg Skipper N° Bateau Temps / Ecart au premier
- 1 Koch Antoine 74 SOPRA GROUP arrivé le 19/08/09 à 14:12:48 en 72h58’48’’
- 2 Troussel Nicolas 6 CREDIT MUTUEL DE BRETAGNE à 02’18’’
- 3 Rouxel Thomas 66 DEFI MOUSQUETAIRES à 02’44’’
- 4 Lunven Nicolas 50 CGPI à 05’44’’
- 5 Gabart François 10 ESPOIR REGION BRETAGNE à 06’58’’
- 6 King Nigel 93 NIGEL KING YACHTING à 09’39’’
- 7 Toulorge Alexandre 11 AUDITION SANTE à 10’02’’
- 8 * Delahaye Fabien 55 PORT DE CAEN OUISTREHAM à 10’44’’
- 9 Veniard Gérald 94 MACIF à 11’32’’
- 10 Desjoyeaux Michel 45 FONCIA à 11’45’’
- 11 * Meilhat Paul 17 DOMINO’S PIZZA à 11’58’’
- 12 Duthil Fréderic 4 BBOX BOUYGUES TELECOM à 12’42’’
- 13 Caudrelier Benac Charles 19 BOSTIK à 13’40’’
- 14 Chabagny Thierry 8 SUZUKI AUTOMOBILES à 14’02’’
- 15 Tabarly Erwan 3 ATHEMA à 14’13’’
- 16 Nicol Jean-Pierre 28 GAVOTTES à 14’16’’
- 17 Le Gal Franck 24 LENZE à 15’13’’
- 18 Berenger Nicolas 2 KONE ELEVATORS à 16’32’’
- 19 Tripon Armel 53 GEDIMAT à 17’44’’
- 20 Elies Yann 26 GENERALI à 20’14’’

Final rankings - before jury

- 1 Lunven Nicolas 50 CGPI
- 2 Elies Yann 26 GENERALI
- 3 Duthil Fréderic 4 BBOX BOUYGUES TELECOM
- 4 Chabagny Thierry 8 SUZUKI AUTOMOBILES
- 5 Desjoyeaux Michel 45 FONCIA
- 6 Troussel Nicolas 6 CREDIT MUTUEL DE BRETAGNE
- 7 Morvan Gildas CERCLE VERT
- 8 Berenger Nicolas 2 KONE ELEVATORS
- 9 Tabarly Erwan 3 ATHEMA
- 10 Caudrelier Benac Charles 19 BOSTIK



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