Solitaire du Figaro victory for Armel Le Cleac'h

The Jackal claims final leg and a well deserved overall victory

Armel Le Cleac'h and his yacht BritAir were first across the Cherbourg-Octeville finish line this evening at 21:15:24 to claim the fourth and final leg of the 1,717 mile long, four stage La Solitaire du Figaro. He covered the 435 miles in 54 hours, 30 minutes and 24 seconds at an average speed of 7.98 knots

Finishing just 3 minutes and 4 seconds astern of BritAir was former Mini Transat winner Corentin Douguet aboard E.Leclerc Mobile.

Le Cleac'h, 33, dominated this year's race from start to finish adding his latest leg victory to those in the first two. He only narrowly missed out on a win on the third leg into Kinsale, claimed instead by Adrien Hardy. 

His overall cumulative elapsed time was 1 hour 28 minutes ahead of second placed Francois Gabart. This is Le Cleac'h's second victory in La Solitaire du Figaro, following on from his first in 2003.

“I won three legs, with a sixth place into Ireland… To win Le Figaro in this manner, I am happy and proud," said le Cleac'h. "I had to catch up after a bad race last year, so I had to sail well in all four legs. In each I really stayed in touch. I believe this time that I learned something about controlling the race, knowing how to remain in the lead. This is difficult when one has 44 competitors behind you! I often found myself leading the results and on every leg I knew I could win - on the water, it was magic with the boat, the strategy, I managed to stay on top of what I wanted to do. I took enormous pleasure with each leg, even this last one with Corentin Douguet, when there was no let-up.

"This season we prepared well with BritAir. My shore crew did a great job like they did with the IMOCA 60. I think my victory in the Transat AG2R with Fabien did me much good, as I've said before. That gave me wings on this Figaro. I am very glad to join my pal Nico [Nicolas Troussel] in the club of the double winners”.

From Le Havre to Cherbourg, sailing to Gijón, Brest and Kinsale, Le Cleac’h showed exceptional speed and focus, he was clearly in harmony with himself an his boat, in control of his strategy. This was his karma and his Solitaire, probably more than it was in 2003, when he first won with a lead of just 13 seconds ahead of Alain Gautier. If it weren’t for a minor mistake on the third leg to Kinsale he could have easily got a 4/4 score of leg wins. He “only” achieved three, which remains an outstanding performance.

Le Cleac'h, from Morlaix, has already five leg wins and two overall victories in his Solitaire cv, having raced his first Solitaire in 2000. He joins the select group of double Solitaire winners including Nicolas Troussel and famous sailors from the past such as Jean-Marie Vidal, Gilles Gahinet, Guy Cornou and Gilles Le Baud.

Finishing in third place on leg four François Gabart came second overall. 27 years old, this is his third Solitaire but this year has come of age showing a determination as strong as his older rivals. With his pale blue eyes and crop of blond hair, his good humour and excellent communication skills he will surely remains as one of the leading characters of the 2010 Solitaire du Figaro. This winter he will compete in the Barcelona World Race with double Vendee Globe winner Michel Desjoyeaux.

Leg four results:

La Solitaire du Figaro 2010 overall results: