Groovederci pipped at the post

Tour Voile concludes at Ste Maxime

With two windward-leeward courses planned for the final day of the 2004 Tour de France à la Voile, Bouygues Telecom began the day with a 15 point lead over Defi Partage Marseille, who themselves were 11 points ahead of the American team who have lead the majority of the Tour, Groovederci.

The first race was held in an established, if shifty easterly breeze with Bouygues Telecom narrowly taking victory after a tense duel with Groovederci. The second and final race of the day was cancelled shortly after the start due to a lack of wind off St Maxime.

And so it was Bouygues Telecom that took a much deserved outright victory in the Tour, with Defi Partage Marseille taking second and former leader Groovederci completing the podium in third.

The final skippers’ briefing at 1000 GMT today was spiced with sentiment with Race Director Manfred Ramspacher, keen to show his appreciation to the crews for the smooth running of the 2004 Tour Voile.

He highlighted the sporting nature of the teams both on an off the water, as well as a desire to see the increased international following of the event thanks to new race owners Larivière. He also hinted at the potential inclusion of some America’s Cup crews in next year’s race, as well as the familiar student and amateur rankings which make
the event what it is today. A partnership with Voile Magazine is also set to improve future visibility of the event both for partners and competitors.

Fully briefed and eager to finish the Tour in style, Defi Jean Bart, Region Ile de France, Theoule Mandelieu and Defi Sclerose en Plaque Leonard de Vinci were too hot off the blocks in he t8/10 knot winds and had to make the required penalty turns.

By the first upwind mark it was Bouygues Telecom out front, with Nantes Saint Nazaire right in its wake and Defi Partage-Marseille in third. In seventh was the American skippered Groovederci.

Back on the pace by the downwind mark quarter of an hour later Groovederci leading the field, with Bouygues Telecom hanging on firmly behind.

This was the same scenario at the third mark but by the finish Bouygues Telecom had managed to regain the lead pushing Groovederci into second with Nantes Saint Nazaire taking third.

PSA Peugeot Citroen had to return to shore after the first leg so as to disembark one of her crew injured during the leg after a bad fall. He had to undergo additional examinations as a matter of safety. The Race Committee waited for the competitor to rejoin the race zone prior to launching the second start.

In 5-6 knots of wind it was Ville de Geneve Carrefour Prevention that got off to the best start in Race 30 but 11 minutes later the leg was cancelled due to lack of wind. Despite a new procedure, Race 30 was eventually cancelled outright for this same reason.

As a result, the worthy winner of the Tour de France à la Voile 2004 is Bouygues Telecom with Defi Partage Marseille taking second and Groovederci, leader for most of the Tour Voile finishing third overall.

"This victory is the reward of six years of sailing together. It was pretty difficult for a while but we managed to comeback. Groovederci lost the Tour de France à la Voile in one leg. It was our regularity that saved us» declared the skipper of Bouygues Telecom, Pierre-Loïc. This race is really specific and to have already raced it, and even won it, in 2002 with the same crew is obviously an advantage. We’re making progress every year."

In the student ranking leader Defi Grandes Ecoles Total Insa, skippered by Florent Gagerro set the pace from Perros-Guirec, with Port de Commerce La Rochelle Estudines.com taking second and Defi Sclerose en Plaques Leonard de Vinci taking third by just half a point over fourth place.

The Challenge AGF rewarded the boats that were the best placed with Groovederci not leaving empty handed with first prize, Defi Partage Marseille in second and Region Ile de France in third. American skipper of Groovederci, Deneen Demourkas admitted to being a “little disappointed...but more through the fact that it is over. It’s been an absolutely fantastic event and I’m seriously considering coming back for more...”

Final results:

Pos	Boat	Skipper	Points
1	BOUYGUES TELECOM	Pierre Loïc Berthet	1161
2	DEFI PARTAGE MARSEILLE	Thierry Bouchard/Dimitri Deruelle	1139
3	GROOVEDERCI	Deneen B. Demourkas/Laurent Pages	1132
4	REGION ILE DE France	Jimmy Pahun/Nicolas Pauchet	1097
5	TOULON PROVENCE MEDITERRANEE COYCH	P.L.Garnero/F.Henry	1089
6	THEOULE MANDELIEU	Sylvain Chtounder	1058,5
7	DIEPPE SEINE MARITIME	Romain Gibon	1025,5
8	VILLE DE GENEVE CARREFOUR PREVENTION	Julien di Biase/Denis Girardet	984
9	COTES D'ARMOR	Vincent Biarnes	960
10	CSC ESSEC	Hervé Gautier	931
11	VILLE DU PORT BRED ILE DE LA REUNION	Jean Albert Gabriel/M.Guessard	930
12	DEFI GRANDES ECOLES TOTAL INSA	Florent Gaggero	814,5
13	BELVEDERE FORCE EDC LES COPAINS A BORD	Vincent Portugal	796,5
14	PORT DE COMMERCE LA ROCHELLE ESTUDINES.COM	Pierre François Le Poutre	784,5
15	ESPOIRS AQUITAINS	Xavier Cantegrel/Pascale Dentraygue	726
16	PERPIGNAN MEDITERRANEE	Paul Mc Kenzie	720
17	DEFI SCLEROSE EN PLAQUES	Stéphane Venel	717
18	NANTES SAINT NAZAIRE	S.Petithuguenin	704
19	ALFA LAVAL	Yoann Richomme/Antoine Cardin	678,5
20	DEFI DON DU SANG ALLIBERT- HEC-ESC GRENOBLE-X	Philippe Legros	675
21	PSA PEUGEOT CITROEN	Eric Blouet	674,5
22	BIENNE VOILE	R.Hartmann	638,5
23	DOUARNENEZ VOILE MAGAZINE	Loïc Le Garrec	630
24	TEPACAP	J.Grégoire/A.Pallu de la Barrière	617,5
25	BREST GRANDES ECOLES ENSIETA ENST BRETAGNE	N. Audigane/T. Mahé/M. Riou/C.Pratt	568,5
26	DELFT CHALLENGE	Ko Stroo	548
27	EIGSI CHARENTE MARITIME	Antoine Albaret	541,5
28	MARSEILLE UNIVERSITES VILLE DE BANDOL	J.F. chevalier/S.Guignard	523,5
29	DEFI JEAN BART	G.Delacroix/T.Ruyant	502,5
30	T SERVICE INTERIM REGION DE BRUXELLES CAPITAL	J.M.Fobert/L.Declercq	467
	Students
1	DEFI GRANDES ECOLES TOTAL INSA	Florent Gaggero	543,5
2	PORT DE COMMERCE LA ROCHELLE ESTUDINES.COM	Pierre François Le Poutre	528
3	DEFI SCLEROSE EN PLAQUES	Stéphane Venel	494,5
4	DEFI DON DU SANG ALLIBERT- HEC-ESC GRENOBLE-X	Philippe Legros	494
5	ALFA LAVAL	Yoann Richomme/Antoine Cardin	486,5
6	DELFT CHALLENGE	Ko Stroo	425
7	BREST GRANDES ECOLES ENSIETA ENST BRETAGNE	N. Audigane/T. Mahé/M. Riou/C.Pratt	423
8	MARSEILLE UNIVERSITES VILLE DE BANDOL	J.F. chevalier/S.Guignard	413,5
9	EIGSI CHARENTE MARITIME	Antoine Albaret	405,5
	Amateurs
1	DIEPPE SEINE MARITIME	Romain Gibon	533
2	VILLE DE GENEVE CARREFOUR PREVENTION	Julien di Biase/Denis Girardet	508
3	CSC ESSEC	Hervé Gautier	506,5
4	COTES D'ARMOR	Vincent Biarnes	506,5
5	VILLE DU PORT BRED ILE DE LA REUNION	Jean Albert Gabriel/M.Guessard	490,5
6	BELVEDERE FORCE EDC LES COPAINS A BORD	Vincent Portugal	429
7	PERPIGNAN MEDITERRANEE	Paul Mc Kenzie	387
8	PSA PEUGEOT CITROEN	Eric Blouet	356
9	BIENNE VOILE	R.Hartmann	346,5
10	TEPACAP	J.Grégoire/A.Pallu de la Barrière	335,5
11	DEFI JEAN BART	G.Delacroix/T.Ruyant	287
12	T SERVICE INTERIM REGION DE BRUXELLES CAPITAL	J.M.Fobert/L.Declercq	268,5