Troussel nears line

Significant lead for Financo skipper on first leg of Figaro

There is a radical change to the situation of the Figaro fleet now sailing off the Asturian coastline in 25 knots of westerly wind and just 19.1 miles from the finish at 12:00 local time Monday. Nicolas Troussel ( Financo) extends his lead over the remainder of the fleet to nearly 30 miles and the latest ETA is brought forward to this 14:00 GMT.

The passage of the weather front that was forecast by Météo France has materialised yesterday and come as a complete contrast to the calm conditions experienced since the start of the race. “The wind came in quite suddenly veering round to the right and the sea chop is building,” described Jacques Caraës from on board the race committee catamaran this morning. “We are 6 miles to leeward of Nicolas Troussel and it is pretty wet and uncomfortable on board. It should calm down once this front has passed over.”

Just 19.1 miles or so from the new finish line at 12:00 local time this morning in Cape Ortegal and Nicolas Troussel continues to make extend the advantage over all the other competitors. Frédéric Duthil ( Distinxion Automobiles) and Christian Bos ( Région Midi Pyrénées) trail by a massive 29.5 nm and by 30.7 miles. This will translate into a huge time difference, which is what will count in the overall scoring for the race.

If all goes according to plan, there is little to stop the winner of the 2006 edition of La Solitaire to finish first. “We have has up to 27 or 28 knots of wind. I am really happy with my position but am trying to finish keeping the largest margin possible to get the most time difference possible over the other boats. I am just concentrating on finishing the race well and it always takes longer than you think at the end and I am really quite tired. I have managed to have a few siestas but am really quite shattered,” said Troussel over the VHF.

”Things are not bad here," he continued. "I am beating up wind and having to hold on. The wind veers round really fast and rises to 27 / 28 knots. I expected to get the shift to come in more gently, with a little more from the Southwest before getting the westerly. The sea is building as we sail over the plateau and it is getting quite rough. The boat is getting a battering. We should have another 3 or 4 tacks to do before the finish line, so not too many. I must say the shortened racecourse suits me fine, firstly because I am ahead and also it is going to give us all a chance to get some rest before we motor and get in on Tuesday evening to then leave again on Thursday. It would have been a bit short and we would have been completely shattered. I see myself crossing the finish line at around 14:00 GMT (16:00 local time).”

The advantage Financo has carved out is massive, further back a group of four comprised of Erwan Tabarly on Athema, Christopher Pratt on DCNS 97 then Jeanne Grégoire ( Banque Populaire) and Nicolas Bérenger ( Koné Ascenseurs) have worked their way up north of the direct route and positioning themselves to be at a good angle of a approach and give them a chance not have to keep tacking on the approach to Cape Ortegal.

Four miles back, the first rookie sailor is making gradual inroads, François Gabart ( Espoir Région Bretagne), is placed 8th and having and doing a great first Figaro race. The gaps have really grown, 34 of the 50 competitors now trail at over 50 miles with Malko Szekely ( Région Basse-Normandie) trailing by more than 105 miles, which also translates into a massive time difference.

The bulk of the fleet is situated further south of these front-runners and will no doubt find themselves forced to make more maneuvers and tacks to reach the finish line in the wind that is forecast to back. This will particularly apply for Christophe Lebas ( Lola) and Armel Tripon ( Gedimat) who are closest to the Spanish coastline.

Pedro da Cruz ( Baïko) holds on to a very good 14th place, however is nearly fifty miles behind the leader together with Isabelle Joshke ( Synergie), Pietro D’Alì and Andy Greenwood ( Imtech) who all again are in with the bulk of the fleet at the more than 50 miles behind.

Troussel is expected to cross the finish line from around 14:00 GMT with the next some 4 hours or so later.

For more information and the latest positions see: http://www.lasolitaire.com/accueil_en/