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Route du Rhum - La Banque Postale

Roland Jourdain wins monohulls division in Guadeloupe

"It is beautiful, it’s amazing and I’m really happy"

dimanche 14 novembre 2010Information Route du Rhum

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Roland Jourdain enters the Route du Rhum Route du Rhum #RouteDuRhum -La Banque Postale history books as first skipper to win the Monohull class in successive editions, after triumphing in 2006.

Breaking the finish line off Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe at 06hrs 12mins 56secs today (Sunday, CET/Paris) (Sunday 05 hrs 12mins 56secs GMT/ Sunday 01hrs 12 mins 56secs local time (CET -4hrs)) Roland Jourdain on the IMOCA Imoca #IMOCA 60 Veolia Environnement Environnement took first place in the IMOCA Imoca #IMOCA Class overall in the 9th Route du Rhum Route du Rhum #RouteDuRhum -La Banque Postale solo Transatlantic race which started from Saint-Malo, France at 1302hrs (CET) Sunday 31st October.

The elapsed time for Veolia Environnement Environnement is 13 days, 17 hours, 10 minutes and 56 seconds. His average speed is 12.02kts for the distance he sailed of 3957miles. Over the theoretical course distance of 3539 miles Roland Jourdain’s average speed is 10.75 knots.

Roland Jourdain :

It is beautiful, it’s amazing and I’m really happy. I won’t say it was easy but it went well on balance. There was definitely a kind of winning aura with me.

The little advance I had on Armel and the others helped me finish the race really nicely. It was different from four years ago as Jean [le Cam] was not hot on my heels.

All the time I was telling myself, this one I need it, I take it ; I’ll let the next ones to the others.

I should not have talked badly about the boat, I believe that the boat and I, we did understand each other. We tamed each other. I gained confidence in her at the start, after a bad start I was sailing behind and caught the fleet back. I realised I was at ease with the boat.

I gave it all for 15 days of racing. When you are in a three month race you manage yourself for three months. At 45 years old you do not have the physical strength that you have at 25 so you are dealing with things differently. You are trying to be smarter in your efforts. What I still do not understand is how I could manage to do so many things in the race that are so painful when I am training. Sometimes you feel like you’re Hulk.

Our careers as sailors are different from other sports. We do not have a match every Saturday. As ocean racer we have an important race a year, our projects are big and our careers fragile. We’re less paid that a football player but our careers last longer !

I really think we all did a good job. The boat is in a very good state, nothing broke and that is because she was well prepared by the team. That’s beautiful to be able to take all this to the first place.

My best memory is a sum of things. At the end what stays is when you’re in phase with the elements.

I don’t get this feeling all the time but on this race I reached this state when you understand how the small air molecules and the small water molecules work and that’s what made me win.



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