Tour de France à la Voile 2013 - Rosas to Gruissan Offshore Leg

The fleet left Roses motoring to the Selva port, 41 miles away from the finish line. The start gun went off once six knots from the northeast came in. Courrier Dunkerque rounded the offset mark first after an upwind tack and then they were off downwind.

First the fractional kites. The sea breeze kicked in, reaching 15 knots, but its direction was not as east as planned. This factor affects sail choices. Bigger spinnakers came in before being taken down again and replaced by the fractional ones.

"We were the first ones to hoist the fractional kite again and that paid very well," said Sodebo helmsman Mathieu Richard. "We couldn't sail the direct route anymore with the bigger one and with the fractional kite we were faster and sailing straight to Gruissan. That put us into third place."

Another key sail change happened around 4:00pm. "Courrier Dunkerque was in the lead," said Cammas, "and we overtook them by changing our kite before them and moving windward."

All these spinnaker choices were crucial to today's offshore leg, scored with a factor of 2: Groupama's victory, Courrier Dunkerque's second place – they are closing the gap with Bretagne Crédit Mutuel, second overall and 7 points ahead –, Sodebo's podium. And Normandie's 4th place: the amateurs sailed with three women sailors onboard today, including Figaro's Claire Pruvot, and they are delighted with this result.

It's now time to pack all kites before sailing three in-port races in Gruissan tomorrow, weather permitting.

Interviews

Franck Cammas, Groupama 34 skipper:
"It has been a great fight with Courrier Dunkerque from the start and we overtook them thanks to a spinnaker change and an option to the windward side. Racing is tight every time. We've been lucky to finish first but it's never with a big lead. There are 160 points left so nothing is done mathematically speaking."

Daniel Souben, Courrier Dunkerque 3 skipper:
"We took off with a great start and led at the offset mark. We did the first sail changes well but then the wind didn't shift as planned. We had to go from the big kite to the smaller one and we waited a bit too long... Groupama was on the windward side and overtook us then. They took the lead and we never caught these three or four lengths back. We are disappointed not to win this one but it's not a bad one overall: we are getting closer to the second place, 7 points behind Bretagne Crédit Mutuel Elite."

Mathieu Richard, Sodebo helmsman:
"Very happy because we didn't take a great start: we were in 9th or 10th position at some point. Anything can happen during such races; we did our best all along. There were many sail changes and that went well – more importantly, at the right time."

François Kunz, Bienne Voile co-skipper:
"Our 'South team' is delighted with this 10th place! We started very well even though that didn't end up as planned. We worked hard, changing spinnakers and getting closer from our competitors. The same leg last year was too windy and this time around it was just fine. We are really motivated but training is missing."

Overall ranking after 25 races before jury:

1. GROUPAMA 34, CAMMAS Franck 968 pts
2. BRETAGNE CREDIT MUTUEL ELITE, TROUSSEL Nicolas 896 pts
3. COURRIER DUNKERQUE 3, SOUBEN Daniel 889 pts
4. SODEBO, COVILLE Thomas 869, 7 pts
5. TEAM OMANSAIL, POULIGNY Cédric 857 pts
6. TOULON PROVENCE MEDITERRANEE - COYCH, BERNAZ Jean-Baptiste 767 pts
7. VILLE DE GENEVE - CARREFOUR ADDICTIONS, METTRAUX Elodie-Jane et GROUX Nicolas 751 pts
8. NANTES - SAINT NAZAIRE - E.LECLERC, DOUGUET Corentin 742 pts
9. NORMANDIE, CHOQUENET Baptiste 707 pts
10. MARTINIQUE - BE.BRUSSELS, WOLTERS Delphine et MOURES Matthieu 662 pts
11. ISKAREEN, DITTMERS Christiane et BRUHNS Sönke 651 pts
12. BIENNE - VOILE – SRS, PETER Luzius et KUNZ François 599 pts

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