Sailing: Irishman Tom Dolan becomes third foreign sailor to win Solitaire du Figaro

Tom Dolan a remporté la 54e solitaire du Figaro MAXPPP – Stéphane Geufroi

À 37 ans, Tom Dolan peut maintenant s’orienter vers les courses au large.

Irish skipper Tom Dolan won the 55th edition of the Solitaire du Figaro in La Turballe (Loire-Atlantique) on Thursday morning and became the third foreign sailor to win this race. The 37-year-old skipper of the Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan monohull crossed the line of the third and final leg early in the morning at 5:18 a.m., in seventh position, after more than three days and fifteen hours at sea.

Frenchman Loïs Berrehar (Skipper Macif 2022) won this leg, after having already pocketed the first in Gijon, Spain. But the delay accumulated at the arrival of the second stage in Royan did not allow this 30-year-old sailor to add his name to the list of winners of an event in which he finished second.

We fought until the end, frankly, it was a pleasure!

“It was super close. We fought until the end, honestly, it was great! It's an accomplishment, a lot of time, a lot of hard work for moments that are rare. “I was keen to win one this year, I won two”, declared Berrehar, happy despite everything.

A springboard to the Vendée Globe ?

His compatriot Gaston Morvan (Région Bretagne – CMB Performance), third in this final stage whose finish was decided by a hair's breadth – the first four are separated by 1 hour 11 minutes – is also ranked third overall. Departing from Royan (Charente-Maritime) on Sunday and before a grueling journey along the Atlantic coast to the English coast from the Bay of Biscay, Tom Dolan becomes the first Irishman to win this legendary race.

The Irishman is the third foreign sailor to win this solo race after the Belgian Joan de Kat in 1970 and the Swiss Laurent Bourgnon in 1988. “This moment I dreamed of, but really a dream. I can't say it was an objective. It had been a dream for years”, he declared on his arrival in La Turballe.

Thirty-seven skippers took part in this 55th edition, seen by most aspiring offshore sailors as one of the main springboards for offshore races such as the Vendée Globe or the Route du Rhum.