Lunven triumphant winner of La Solitaire URGO Le Figaro

by Event Media on 23 Jun 2017 This morning at 8:16 local time Nicolas Lunven onboard his Bénéteau Figaro 2 Generali crossed the stage four finish line completing the grueling 505-mile course from Concarneau to Dieppe in fourth position, securing his dominance at the top of the General Standings.

Today marks Lunvens second victory in the Solitaire having competed in eight editions of the race, [His first win being in 2009]. “This race with equal weapons is difficult and so demanding, it’s probably my greatest victory, so much work has been going on for the past two years”

Taking second place in the final standings Adrien Hardy (Agir Recouvrement) arrives at the dock completely exhausted finishing stage four in 12th position. A bold decision on the English coast, opting for the more offshore route saw Hardy tumble 20 places down the leaderboard. Working relentlessly right through the night until the finish Hardy managed to claw back 10 of those places and retain second place on the overall podium.

Justine Mettraux (Teamwork) retains her place in the top 10 standing of the fourth stage finishing in ninth position, this result enough to take the seventh place position in the General standings beating her closest rival by under three minutes. Mettraux takes the highest ranked International competitor and also the top female competitor in the 2017 edition!

Justine Mettraux (Teamwork), seventh overall
'It was hard this stage. I hung on. We had managed to make a good hole at the beginning and then it started again from scratch. We had to do the job again and it's cool that it went well in the end. Last year I had good basis but I had not managed to materialize, I had arrived tired. I really took care this year to rest well before La Solitaire. You realize it's so much easier to last. Morale plays a lot. I'm glad to get to Dieppe. It was time for Teamwork to finish and I had a little in mind the general classification. I knew I could win a place by putting Damien Cloarec behind and that Xavier (Macaire) should not end up too far ahead... I think what I could ensure, I assured, so I'm happy.'

The 48th edition of the race proving to be a test for all skippers including the most experienced, the likes of Jeremie Beyou (Charal) and Yann Elies (Queguiner – Leucemie Espoir) outside of the top 5 and Beyou the top 10!

Just outside the top 20 Milan Kolacek (Czeching The Edge) has to settle for 21st place after spending the entire fourth stage playing catch up trying to chase down the leading pack, unable to find a passing lane Kolacek finished in 29th position sadly missing the Rookie podium by an hour. Just behind Kolacek and leading the British contingent in the General Classification Alan Roberts (Seacat Services) had a challenging Stage spent battling for 15th place for over two days. Positioned in a very tight bunch of boats towards the end of the stage Roberts had to settle for 21st place just 10s behind 20th, this sees Roberts placed in 22nd position on the overall standings 10 minutes behind Kolacek.

Competing in only his second La Solitaire du Figaro race and representing The Offshore Academy, amateur sailor Hugh Brayshaw had a promising final stage, battling with fellow amateurs and with many sailors his senior. Finishing at 09:32 local time this morning, after three days 18hrs 9min 12sec Hugh takes 32nd place in Stage 4 and moves him to 25th in the Overall standings. This result cementing his position at the top of the Amateur leaderboard and taking the win by over an hour.
“I’m so happy to reach the finish, that was such a hard leg, I’m very happy we were quick along the English coast as the start was so painfully slow. I have a lot to improve on from this race and I’m going to write a long list after this – definitely things I can improve for next year!”

Just 30 minutes behind Brayshaw, Mary Rook (Inspire +) crossed the finish line to take 35th position for Stage 4 and 29th in the overall standings, [an improvement of three places on her 2016 race] finishing third female overall.
At the finish line Mary commented “We were doing 11 knots at times, there were just massive waves and a lot of downwind in this stage which was nice for a change!”

Of the remaining international entrants Turkeys Tolga Ekrem Pamir (Freedom Services a Domicile 1 Jour 1 Homme 1 Arbre) crossed the line of stage four in 29th position after two days 22 hrs five min 32 secs at sea [5hrs after the leader]. Anglo American entrant Nathalie Criou remains on the course at the 16h standings with 60 miles still to run to the finish, after what has been a challenging event and compared to the podium skippers will have spent an extra two days at sea racing, but for Criou it was all about finishing her first attempt and the challenge that is La Solitaire URGO Le Figaro.

Nicolas Lunven - Generali - Winner of the 48th edition of La Solitaire URGO Le Figaro
'It is a great relief, they are years of work, I think about every day, I am very moved. It's probably my best victory, so much has been working upstream since 2010. It's good to cross the line! Adrien was equal to himself with all the respect I owe him, he tried all the ideas that went through his head with an unusually high success rate for a human being. He made one too many mistakes I think on approaching the Isle of Wight, he lost a bit. All the victories are difficult, it's energy, time, the investment we make to get there ... This one I will enjoy, more than my first in 2009. I’ve won two of the stages [The third and fourth]. This is the best moment of my sporting career.'

Adrien Hardy - Act Recovery – second overall
'It's really hard. I dreamed of victory, for me and my sponsor, it's been ten years that they are by my side, I wanted to win ... I'm so tired, I've given so much over these four days. I loved this Solitaire! On this stage, it always came back ... I took advantage of it sometimes. The fleet has always shifted. This stage was superb, four nights without sleep! This race is great... Nicolas (Lunven) gave me the hard life, he won, he was super strong, he got a little mad at a time, there were so many reversals of situations. There is a lot going on in the head, it's super positive all that! In the end, I did some great stuff, I was quick, I was still full of hope. '

Charlie Dalin - Skipper Macif 2015 – third overall
'I'm tired but happy with the stage win. It was a long stage, I'm happy to win that one. Every time I was in the lead the fleet came back, so I had to put the cover back a bunch of times. I am happy with this victory, it was necessary not to let go, it was played in the cross-channel where I sent the spinnaker first. I do not win the Solitaire but I do 4 podiums in a row on this event, it's still not bad. I am satisfied with this regularity, it will be necessary to return to win it!'