Tour de France à la Voile - Groupama 34 misses out on the double

by Groupama Sailing Team on 27 Jul 2014 This Saturday 26 July, the city of Nice saw the Tour de France à la Voile 2014 draw to a close with a fine victory for Courrier Dunkerque ahead of Groupama 34 and Oman Sail. Ultimately, the winner of the 2013 edition has missed out on its double, despite a fantastic comeback by Franck Cammas and his crew in the Mediterranean. Third in the offshore ranking, Groupama 34 won the inshore ranking.

Leader of the Tour until the end of the second offshore leg, Groupama 34 never managed to make up the 25 points which were conceded to Courrier Dunkerque between Dieppe and Granville. Very well prepared and going for gold in the Tour once again, Daniel Souben's crew handled its lead intelligently, not succumbing to the pressure and the possible doubts generated by its advantage.

Questioned on his return to the dock after a fine victory in the final stage of the Tour 2014 and the final race contested in M34, the skipper of Groupama had this to say: 'We're disappointed as we didn't take part in this Tour to come second. Congratulations to Courrier Dunkerque, which handled the whole race better than us, particularly in the offshore legs, where they avoided any counter performances. That's clearly where the overall ranking was decided and we racked up two poor results in that element of the competition'.

Franck Cammas certainly isn't calling the calibre of his men into question however: 'We had the potential to win, but we weren't successful in these courses. There were some small mistakes and some glitches resulting from our rather silly points' losses on occasion, but there's nothing preventing this group from winning another Tour de France in style'.

Did the use of one-design sails have an influence on the result?: 'No, I don't believe it did, even though the races were tighter, particularly with the youngsters and the amateurs, who were in a position to win races in contrast with last year. The speeds were fairly similar but we still had the same four boats at the front of the pack. In the offshore races, the same hierarchy always established itself'.

Held back from joining his team until Roses due to competing in the European Nacra 17 Championship, Franck Cammas makes no secret of his sentiment: 'We knew that it wasn't the best solution, but I couldn't have done things any differently. I did half the circuit, or less even, given that I didn't participate in any training, and that's not the best way to prepare for a race. From this point of view, Courrier Dunkerque was a lot more effective with the Tour as its main objective this year. The change of helmsman and skipper inevitably unsettles a team. The communication with the crew isn't the same and even I took a bit of time to rediscover the reflex actions and the necessary consistency'.

It now remains to thank all the Groupama team that has been part of this Tour. Whether they are sailors or member of the shore crew (préparateur, driver, logistics, cook, osteopath or communications), they've all devoted themselves to their mission with enthusiasm and determination.

As for Franck, tomorrow he'll be catching the morning plane to Rio with Sophie de Turckheim, so as to compete in the Olympic Nacra 17 Test Event. Suffice to say that the skipper of Groupama won't have time to brood...

Crew of Groupama 34
Franck Cammas
Fabien Henry
Malo Bessec
Julien Villion
Devan Le Bihan
Matthieu Di Russo
Christophe Andre
Maxime Paul
Tanguy Cariou
Louis Viat
Tugdual Becquemie
Arnaud Jarlegan

Shore crew
Laëtitia Brière - Logistics manager
Ronan Jugueau - Technical manager
Pierre Giger - Trailer driver
Cloe Briand - Osteopath
Michel Aubert - Trailer driver
Thierry Peponnet - coach
Yvan Zedda - Photo
Theo Reynal - Communication
Vincent Borde - Communication
Solene Rennuit - Communication

Overall ranking after 33 races
1. Courrier Dunkerque 3 with 1,038 points
2. Groupama 34 with 1,020 points
3. Team Omansail with 956 points
4. Bretagne Crédit Mutuel Elite with 954 points
5. Normandy Acerel with 917 points
6. Ville de Genève - Carrefour Addictions with 898 points
7. Nantes Saint Nazaire with 882 points
8. Toulon Provence Méditerranée COYCH with 870 points
9. BE Brussels Bienne Voile with 776 points

Overall ranking for the inshore racing after 26 races
1. Groupama 34 with 614 points
2. Courrier Dunkerque 3 with 597 points
3. Team Omansail with 557 points
4. Ville de Genève - Carrefour Addictions with 548 points
5. Bretagne Crédit Mutuel Elite with 547 points
6. Normandy Acerel with 543 points
7. Nantes Saint Nazaire with 533 points
8. Toulon Provence Méditerranée COYCH with 509 points
9. BE Brussels Bienne Voile with 461 points

Overall ranking for the offshore racing after seven legs
1. Courrier Dunkerque 3 with 441 points
2. Bretagne Crédit Mutuel Elite with 407 points
3. Groupama 34 with 406 points
4. Team Omansail with 399 points
5. Normandy Acerel with 374 points
6. Toulon Provence Méditerranée COYCH with 361 points
7. Ville de Genève - Carrefour Addictions with 350 points
8. Nantes Saint Nazaire with 340 points
9. BE Brussels Bienne Voile with 315 points