Tour de France à la Voile – First podium for Oman Airports

by A.S.O./Tour de France à la voile on 29 Jul 2016 The fleet arrived in Nice for final Act and this morning, TDFV sailors and organisation members payed tribute to terror attack victims at Albert 1er garden Memorial.

'It is a bit odd for the Tour de France à la Voile to come to Nice. Local authorities have claimed their will to maintain the finish of the event here, only for the sporting aspect, and removing all festive aspects. Life goes on for everyone, day after day, and we are going forward with dignity and sobriety. Nice and Amaury Sport Organisation have always had a strong bond and it is even stronger today. Like every french people, like all human beings, we are very affected by this drama', said Tour de France à la Voile Director, Jean-Baptiste Durier.

'I would like to thank Amaury Sport Organisation for their understanding when we chose to maintain the sporting aspect of the event, first one to be held since Bastille Day attack. Through the Tour de France à la Voile we are showing that life has to go on. We are very affected but we have to keep our head up and keep going. Although it is difficult to just smile and enjoy life, Tour de France à la Voile offers a bit of an escape', said ?deputy major of Nice José Cobos.

Today the Diam 24 sailed their last coastal race of the event. A 30 mile course in the Bay of Angels that saw another victory from already 2016 champion, Team Lorina Limonade, their 10th victory out of 16 days of racing.

'We are happy to keep sailing with the same level of demand, although we’ve already won the Tour', said co-skipper Quentin Delapierre.

After their nightmare day yesterday with two collisions, Trésors de Tahiti wanted to bounce back, and they did well today, sailing a perfect race in the bay of Angels.

'It’s so much better than yesterday', said skipper Teva Plichart. 'There is usually not much wind here, but today was nice. But we are hugely disappointed to not be able to qualify for tomorrow Gold final, as we know it’s due to yesterday’s bad performance in Hyères where we lost so many points. Overall, we are happy with our Tour. We know we will be back next year as it is a three year project and we know what we can improve on the water.'

Finishing third today, Oman Airports wins its first podium since the beginning of the Tour and qualifies for tomorrow’s Gold final. 'Our objective today was not to win but to control our rivals and to finish in the top five or six to be in the Gold final. Mathematically, a few teams could qualify so we had to work really hard on the water. It was not easy but the good thing is that Stevie and I have the experience of high level competition so we know how to cope when pressure is on. We are very happy with this third place. We had fun on the water today. Now we are ready for a second Tour right now!'

How does it work tomorrow ?

There will be three groups based on last overall rankings

Bronze: the last nine boats : 24 - Columbus Café – IDTGV ; 23 – Marie et ses frères ; 22 – Helvetia Purple by Normandy Elite Team ; 21 – Be.Brussels ; 20 – Dunkerque Voile ; 19 – Fondation FDJ – Des pieds et des mains ; 18 – Techneau ; 17 – EMCC by Normandy Elite Team.

Silver : the next nine boats : 16 – Pays de l’Or – Hérault ; 15 – Réel PGO – Réseau Entreprendre ; 14 – Helvetia Blue by Normandy Elite Team ; 13 – Cheminées Poujoulat ; 12 – Dynamique Homkia ; 11 Natixis – Défi YC Saint-Lunaire ; 10 – Cardinal-FenêtréA ; 9 – Team France Jeune ; 8 – Trésors de Tahiti ; 7 – Team Lorina Mojito – Golfe du Morbihan.

These two groups will sail as many races as possible and all results will count double points.

Gold : the six first boats: 6 – Installux Aluminium ; 5 – Oman Airports by Oman Sail ; 4 – Team Coved ; 3 – Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne ; 2 – Grandeur Nature Véranda ; 1 – Team Lorina Limonade – Golfe du Morbihan.

Only one race at 3.30pm, scoring double points.