Tour de France à la Voile - Groupama increases lead

by Groupama sailing team on 5 Jul 2013 Tour de France à la Voile - Groupama 34 has increased its lead in the overall ranking by winning the second offshore sprint between Breskens and Dieppe. Its direct rival, Bretagne Crédit Mutuel has 31 points, whilst Courrier Dunkerque has slipped down to fourth position with 39 points. That's tantamount to saying the winner of the Tour has already been decided some may say, but it's certainly not something that the navigator aboard Groupama 34, Erwan Israël, even wants to consider at this early stage!

It would seem that just one crew has bettered Groupama's performance after the first two offshore sprints contested. Contacted by telephone this morning, Jimmy Pahun, the 1992 winner, unfortunately absent from this year's race after the unexpected withdrawal of his partner Région Ile de France, confided in us that in 1999, a certain Russell Coutts won all the races (offshore and round-the-cans races) aboard Team New
Zealand.

Jimmy also adds that the Kiwis didn't win the overall ranking. It just goes to show...

Indeed, if you look at the scoreboard more closely, Groupama 34 hasn't won every race, finishing second on two occasions behind Bretagne Crédit Mutuel and Courrier Dunkerque.

Following that, the races that have been won have often only come down to a very slim lead. OmanSail and Sodebo are just two of the boats that are hot on their heels.

And finally, it is worth noting the steady rise in strength of the Bretons led by Nicolas Troussel and also Sodebo skippered by Thomas Coville, the latter lying in a very fine third place in the overall ranking today.

And as navigator Erwan Israël explained this morning in the usual press conference at the finish:
'It would be a grave error to think that we've got this race sewn up.

In 2005 or 2007, with TPM, we were in a similar position and we came close to losing. However, let me assure you that it's not Franck Cammas' style to give up. This morning, even when we had the race in the bag, he was continuing to meticulously trim the sails.'

'I'd noted down two dangerous stages: this one and the one from Deauville to Brest' Erwan explains. 'Not to mention the Mediterranean between Gruissan and La Seyne'.

So that's the competition warned: the crew of Groupama 34 won't be changing a thing in what is a winning method for now. A method, which also relies on rigorous organisation on shore with three key characters: Fanfan in the storeroom, Kevin on the massages and Guigui on the boat's technology. Next meeting tomorrow for two round-the-cans races scheduled from 1000 hours local time off Dieppe!

Provisional overall ranking after the first nine races
1. Groupama 34 with 347 points
2. Bretagne Crédit Mutuel: + 31 points
3. Sodebo: + 37 points
4. Courrier Dunkerque: + 39 points
5. Oman Sail: + 39 points....
6. Ville de Genève - Carrefour Addictions: + 69 points
7. Toulon Provence Méditerranée -Coych: + 80 points
8. Nantes saint Nazaire E.Leclerc: + 84 points
9. Normandie: + 116 points
10. Iskareen: + 116 points
11. Martinique - Be Brussels: + 128 points
12. Bienne - Voile -SRS: + 137 points