One last challenge for Sam Goodchild on Macif before the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe

by IMOCA MACIF 11 Sep 09:12 PDT 15-20 September 2026

After a strong start to the season, highlighted by a victory in the 1000 Race and a second-place finish in the Vendée Arctique, Sam Goodchild is approaching the final stretch before the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe with ambition.

From September 15th to 20th, in Lorient, the skipper of MACIF Santé Prévoyance will join 15 other IMOCA boats for the Défi Azimut. This will be one last major competition before setting sail for Saint-Malo. The boat is ready. The skipper is too. But before heading to Lorient, the IMOCA MACIF Santé Prévoyance will participate in a special parade in Concarneau on September 15th, paying tribute to Charlie Dalin, with the entire team gathered for the occasion.

One summer, a move to Concarneau to be closer to the team and his family, a few days of vacation... and above all, an IMOCA that passed through the hands of the technical team until the last week of August. After a successful first half of the season, MACIF Santé Prévoyance underwent a complete overhaul. Keel, mast, winches: everything was inspected. A few modifications were also made, and new sails were added to the inventory.

"We worked on the boat to find a little more performance, while finding the best compromise for the Route du Rhum. We are happy with what we have done, the results are up to our expectations. The boat is ready and I am really looking forward to the start of the Défi Azimut, " says Sam.

The 48-hour Azimut event, to test ourselves one last time

In Lorient, 16 IMOCA boats will gather for the Défi Azimut. Sam appreciates this event for its unique format, combining time spent together on land with competition on the water. But with the Route du Rhum just weeks away, the 48-hour solo race will inevitably have a special significance. It will be the last opportunity to test himself against some of the competition before the major event this autumn. " I really like the Défi Azimut because there's a genuine sense of community. We spend more time with our partners, with the public, and we benefit from the friendly atmosphere on land. But as soon as we start the 48-hour race, we're completely focused on the competition. You have to develop a strategy, make the boat sail well, and compete against the others. When you're on the starting line, you want to do well, especially knowing that the others will also be giving it their all, " adds the skipper of MACIF Santé Prévoyance.

So this isn't just a simple back-to-school regatta. In Lorient, Sam Goodchild intends to use these 48 hours to validate the work done this summer and rediscover the automatic reflexes of solo sailing.

The road to Saint-Malo

After the Défi Azimut, the countdown will seriously accelerate. The boats must be moored in Saint-Malo by October 20th. On November 1st, 118 solo sailors, including 23 IMOCAs, will set off on the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe. Until then, almost every day is already scheduled: press conference in Paris, technical sailing sessions, two training sessions with the Finistère Offshore Racing Center, preparation of spare parts, provisioning... On land and at sea, very little is left to chance, as the Franco-British skipper explains: " The Défi Azimut marks the beginning of the tunnel that will take us to the Route du Rhum. From now on, everything will happen very quickly. We've done a lot of work beforehand with the team on logistics, and the route to Saint-Malo is mapped out. It's going to be fast-paced. We're ready! "

At the end of this route, there are 3,542 theoretical miles between Saint-Malo and Guadeloupe. A sprint of approximately eleven days for the IMOCA boats, carried out at high intensity.

For Sam Goodchild, the objective is clear: to arrive in Saint-Malo with everything in order and to play his hand fully in this Route du Rhum 2026.