Tour de France à la voile - Docks of Dunkerque are buzzing

by Fabienne Morin on 4 Jul 2014 It’s the day before the Tour de France a la Voile Prologue. The docks of Dunkerque are buzzing with activity. Crew members and shore teams are working hand in hand in a race against time. And for those who are better prepared, it’s a day on the water... Will they be the first to cross the finish line tomorrow?

According to an old superstition, the winner of the Prologue won’t be the winner of the race. However, all of the nine teams are willing to fight hard. Last year’s champion Groupama 34 is back on the Tour de France à la Voile, with a very similar crew, but skipper Franck Cammas will only be onboard for the Mediterranean legs, as he is also competing in the Nacra 17 European Championship. Will the absence of the talented frenchman and winner of the last Volvo Ocean Race for the first part of the event be a disadvantage for Groupama 34? Cammas doesn’t seem to be worried about it, and he relies on Fabien Henry to take on his role.

Groupama 34 will compete against another race favourite and a veteran of the circuit, Courrier Dunkerque 3. The local team, skippered by the tried out skipper Daniel Souben (10 Tours under his belt!), will be motivated to win in its home port. And they are only one step from the top of the podium.

Nicolas Troussel, onboard Bretagne - Crédit Mutuel Elite, is used to the third place and would be keen to jump one up on the overall ranking. He will have the support from Corentin Horeau, second of this year’s Solitaire du Figaro or from Christopher Pratt, third of the 2011 and 2013 Transat Jacques Vabre (on Banque Populaire VI and Maître Coq).

Oman Sail will also be one team to keep an eye on. The Omani M34 crew, this time led by Sidney Gavignet, is growing stronger and their goal is clearly to climb on the podium.

On the Corinthian ranking, the young crew of Toulon Provence Méditerranée – COYCH is looking at taking the 1st place of Normandy – Acerel, the 2013 winner. Delphine Wolters will lead the new belgian-swiss coalition of Be. Brussels-Bienne Voile. Another Swiss team, Ville de Genève – Carrefour Addictions, will also be competing on the Tour de France à la Voile this year but on the professionnal ranking. And finally, Nantes – Saint Nazaire, who arrived last in Dunkerque, will do its best to not finish last on the water!

Alex Pallu, mainsail trimmer onboard Oman Sail: 'These last few years, we didn’t have an ambitious goal as our priority was to teach the Omani sailors. We often finished closed to the podium, but now everyone is ready to reach the third step. We’ve done that in previous races this season and we will do our best to do it again.'

Baptiste Choquenet, skipper of Normandy – Acerel: 'It’s a stressful day because we are not quite ready yet. We still have some safety equipment to set up and heaps of little, but important, things to do before tomorrow so that everything goes well. Once on the water, I know everything will be fine. The atmosphere onboard is fantastic, which is very important to get a good result. Last year we finished first of the Corinthian ranking. I am glad that the event goes all the way to Nice and I also love sailing in the bay of Hyères where I’ve always had great holidays!'

Delphine Wolters, skipper of Be. Brussels – Bienne Voile: 'Last year we teamed up with the Caribeans guys from Martinique Island, and this year we will be sailing with the Swiss. Tomorrow the race will be a bit of a surprise for us as we’ve never sailed together. Those who already know the M34 will have to help the young ones, most of them being Event website