70 pre-entries

Strong line-up including Michel Desjoyeaux for the 40th anniversary Solitaire di Figaro

The 40th La Solitaire du Figaro promises to be excellent, with 70 pre-entries of which 19 are rookies, one is a woman and three are non-French, not to mention the return of five previous winners. This anniversary race that will take the fleet between France, Spain and Ireland on a classic course covering 1,706 nautical miles over four legs.

This year's race will take place from 28 July until 22 August. Starting in Lorient it will head to Dieppe, via La Coruña, Spain, Saint Gilles Croix de Vie and Dingle, Ireland.

With five past Solitaire winners and four competitors from the latest Vendée Globe, this will be the comeback year!

First of all, Michel Desjoyeaux, triple winner of La Solitaire in 1992, 1998 and 2007, and recently the first to score a second win in the Vendée Globe, will return to sailing the Figaro Bénéteau 2 with the firm intention of “enjoying himself” while also aiming for what would be a historic fourth win! But he will find a tough opponent in BritAir skipper Armel Le Cléac’h, who finished in second place beihnd him in the Vendée Globe and also won La Solitaire in 2003. Having reached the end of his contract with his sponsor of the past seven years Jérémie Beyou, winner of la Solitaire in 2005, has one sole aim: to win a second title. However the Breton sailor is still looking for a sponsor.

Charles Caudrelier, winner in 2004, is also set to return as will the winner of the 2001 edition and a mainstay of the Figaro Bénéteau Class: Eric Drouglazet.

A special mention for Yann Eliès, who following his terrible accident on the Vendée Globe, has decided to get back into the saddle as quickly as possible and return to competition in La Solitaire, in which he finished second in 2004. Victory overall would be a fine reward for the sailor that has already won 4 legs of La Solitaire.

However there are many many other strong contenders. These include Frédéric Duthil (2nd in 2007 and 3rd in 2008), Gildas Morvan (2nd in 2008), Thierry Chabagny, Erwan Tabarly, Jean-Paul Mouren (23rd participation), Marc Emig, Laurent Pellecuer, Gérald Véniard, Cristophe Lebas and others.

Then there are the new generation, the young wolves of the Figaro circuit such as Gildas Mahé, Thomas Rouxel and Nicolas Lunven who will be joined by the rookies on the podium from the 2008 edition: François Gabart, Adrien Hardy and Isabelle Joschke.

19 rookies are entered in this year's La Solitaire du Figaro showing that the class still has the ability to attract talent such as Cristophe Espagnon, who represented France in the Tornado at the Beijing Olympics, or Fabien Delahaye, recently recruited to Port-La Forêt’s offshore sailing training centre, Arthur Le Vaillant, selected at the windsurfing World Championships and Louis Duc, 4th in the Artemis Transat in 2008.

3 non-French competitors are lining up for La Solitaire du Figaro this summer: Italian former America's Cup sailor Pietro D'Ali is back for a 5th attempt while Britain's Nigel King and Isabelle Joschke will both take part for the second time.

Jacques Caraës, Race Director commented: “We could not have hoped for better for the 40th edition of La Solitaire du Figaro. With 70 pre-entries, we have a truly exceptional line-up! The comeback of five past winners and the arrival of newcomers with 19 rookies once again proves the full sporting interest of La Solitaire. I am thinking of Michel Desjoyeaux who has just achieved a second win on the Vendée Globe and as a main competitor returns to the race with un-diminishing pleasure, it is fantastic. We also have
a wonderful group of faithful sailors such as Gildas Morvan, who has everything in hand to be the talk of La solitaire this summer, and of course we must not forget the young
talent such as François Gabart and Adrien Hardy."