Early victory for 2002 winner

Kito de Pavant wins Solitaire du Figaro prologue

The NW breeze reached 15 knots, providing ideal sailing conditions for the prologue event off Ouistreham for this year's Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro.

2002 Solitaire du Figaro Kito de Pavant from Montpellier in France, sailing led the fleet from an early start, maintaining his lead and eventually taking line honours, after 90 minutes of close racing. De Pavant bucked the widely held superstition within Figaro circles that winning the prologue to this event is unlucky.

Yann Elies, last years Prologue race winner crossed the finish line 57 seconds later on Groupe Generali Assurances followed by Jeremie Beyou on Delta Dore.

The skippers left Ouistreham to sail back up the Orne Canal to Caen at 6pm. Hundreds of people have been gathering along the canal edge throughout the day to see these solo sailors bring their boats back to the Saint Pierre Basin in time for this evening's prize giving.

Local musicians, live commentary and cheering crowds followed the skippers progress and welcomed them into the basin.

The fleet will remain in Caen until Monday when they will depart once more for Ouistreham in preparation for the start of leg one to Portsmouth on Tuesday 27 July.

Results

Pos	Skipper	Boat	DTL
1	de PAVANT Kito	NAVY LEST
2	ELIES Yann	GROUPE GENERALI ASSURANCES	53
3	BEYOU Jérémie	DELTA DORE	1'32''
4	GREGOIRE Jeanne	BANQUE POPULAIRE	1'37''
5	LE CLEAC'H Armel	FONCIA - TBS	1'45''
6	DROUGLAZET Eric	Crédit Maritime - Brokerline	2'01''
7	LEPESQUEUX Marc	MAISONS PIERRE	2'21''
8	CHABAGNY Thierry	LE CAENNAIS BLOCHON - MARTIN	3'10''
9	TROUSSEL Nicolas	D'AUCY	3'16''
10	NELIAS Jean-Luc	CHAUSS-EUROP	3'20''
11	PETIT Benoit	DEFI SANTE VOILE	3'46''
12	BERENGER Nicolas	PAPREC - CNEM	3'54''
13	DUTHIL Frédéric	ALL MER	4'02''
14	KRAUSS Oliver	ESPOIR CREDIT AGRICOLE	4'06''
15	GUERIN Ronan	Camus Immobilier	4'27''
16	VITTET Dominic	ATAO AUDIO SYSTEM	4'40''
17	CAUDRELIER Charles	BOSTIK FINDLEY	4'50''
18	JACQ Rodolphe	SKIPPER AG2R PREVOYANCE	5'02''
19	DAVIES Samantha	SKANDIA	5'26''
20	WARDLEY LIZ	KOOKAÏ	6'00''
21	MORVAN Gildas	CERCLE VERT	6'05''
22	ATTANASIO Romain	PORT TREBEURDEN	6'27''
23	BOS Christian	RAYNAL ET ROQUELAURE	6'30''
24	VENIARD Gérald	SCUTUM	6'42''
25	TABARLY Erwan	THALES	6'45''
26	de BROC Bertrand	AIGLE	6'48''
27	KOCH Antoine	Nobody	6'55''
28	EMIG Marc	TOTAL	6'59''
29	PELLECUER Laurent	CLIPTOL Sport	7'02''
30	BOISSIERES Arnaud	REGION AQUITAINE	7'06''
31	MOUREN Jean-Paul	M@RSEILLE ENTREPRISES	7'13''
32	TOULORGE Alexandre	CAEN LA MER	7'24''
33	LE GAL Franck	MONACO MARINE - SODIFAC ROUBAIX	7'59''
34	TRIPON Armel	GEDIMAT	8'05''
35	LEQUIN Benoit	NANNIDIESEL	8'44''
36	DANIEL Marie-Albane	ACADOMIA	9'39''
37	SEVAUX Stéphane	SARTHE	9'42''
38	BEAURIN Laurent	LATITUDE NORD	9'59''
39	FAVRE Hervé	WORLD GAMES INC.	10'16''
40	LECHARPENTIER Bertrand	Entreprendre en Pays d'Auge - Calvados	10'17''
41	BULOT Jean-François	Crédit Mutuel de Normandie -Ville de Caen	10'40''
42	DELORD Alain	TAT - AVIATION SERVICES	10'53''
43	BIGOT Gaël	TEAM 117	10'57''
44	VACHETTE Vincent	DUC & PRENEUF	11'25''
45	MAISONNEUVE Brieuc	PAYS GRANVILLAIS	11'38''
46	MABIRE Halvard	BIODIVERSITE	11'50''
47	BAKKER Sander	STERN Groep	12'05''
48	DESMARETS Pascal	TETRAKTYS	13'02''
49	BOSSARD Philippe	KARUKERA	13'10''
50	EINHORN Jacques	CONNIVENCE	16'28''
51	BALOGH François	GENERALE D'EMBALLAGE	17'37''
NC	Alfaro	www.PAYS-BASQUE-ENTREPRISES.com	DNF