52nd La Solitaire du Figaro - Xavier Macaire wins Stage 1
by Andi Robertson 26 Aug 2021 03:48 EST
26 August 2021
Xavier Macaire wins Stage 1 of La Solitaire du Figaro 2021 © Alexis Courcoux
Just as he won the 640 nautical miles first leg of the 2020 edition of the race, so Xavier Macaire (Groupe SNEF) has triumphed on the gruelling 627 miles opening stage of the 52nd La Solitaire du Figaro which started at 1745hrs local time last Sunday from Saint Nazaire.
The 40 year old who originates from the south of France but is now the leading sailor on the Team Vendée Formation group crossed the finish line into Lorient this morning at 08:27:21hrs local time (06:27:21 hrs TU).
Having sailed an immaculate course downwind to La Coruna and back upwind to the Lorient line, Macaire made his key gain on the fast, bumpy wet downwind final miles to Los Farallones buoy on the NW of Spain when he sailed nearly half a knot quicker than his rivals ensuring he rounded 10 minutes ahead of second placed Pierre Leboucher (GUYOT Environnement - Ruban rose).
When he took the winning gun this morning into Lorient the second placed solo racer Pierre Quiroga (Skipper MACIF 2019) was still more than five miles behind. On the final 140 miles of the windward leg back across the Bay of Biscay Macaire negotiated the tricky passage between three exclusion zones near perfectly, protecting his lead all the time.
His elapsed time for the stage is 3days 14hrs 30mins 21secs.
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