Péron and Danet take prologue

Concarneau-St Barth duo win Transat AG2R warm-up event

The prologue for the Transat AG2R took place this afternoon on the waters off Concarneau with victory going to Eric Péron and Miguel Danet on Concarneau – Saint-Barth.

The race was far from a gentle promenade around the Baie de la Forêt. The start was as competitive as any fully crewed fleet race with some of the top teams already out to make their mark prior to Sunday's start: Eric Drouglazet and Christophe Bouvet ( Luisina), Thierry Chabagny and Corentin Douguet ( Suzuki), and Nicolas Troussel Christopher Pratt ( Financo), Jean Le Cam and Gildas Morvan ( Cercle Vert):

However it was the duo on Concarneau – Saint-Barth that set the pace, extricating themselves from the melee, rounding the top mark in first place. As they extended so the race was left for second place. In the end it was the crew of Suzuki which achieved the second step of the podium ahead of Ronan Treussard and Anthony Marchand on Groupe Céléos.



"We have trained for four months at the Centre de Port La Forêt Course au Large," commented Péron. "This victory confirms that our work has been good and we are well prepared. It gives me great pleasure, but we do not lose sight of the fact that this is a very small victory compared to a 3,710 mile race across the Atlantic. The prologue and the Transat, theyare not the same disciplines: we sailed well today for two hours, the main race lasts for 20 days. But, we will keep the same spirit throughout the journey between Concarneau and St Barts: give the best of ourselves all the way. We will keep a cool head and the same goaland have no regrets."

Results:

1 Concarneau – Saint-Barth, Eric Péron – Miguel Danet
2 Suzuki Automobiles, Thierry Chabagny – Corentin Douguet
3 Groupe Céléos, Ronan Treussard – Anthony Marchand
4 Financo, Nicolas Troussel – Christopher Pratt
5 Les Mousquetaires, Bertrand de Broc – Gwen Riou
6 Cercle Vert, Gildas Morvan – Jean Le Cam
7 Aquarelle – Le Figaro, Fabrice Amédéo – Jean-Pierre Nicol
8 Luisina, Eric Drouglazet – Christophe Bouvet
9 Lenze, Franck Le Gal – Erwan Le Roux
10 Banque Populaire, Jeanne Grégoire – Nicolas Lunven