He had watched his friends leave and he had stayed at the dock. Without sponsor. But not without idea. And in the end, he had managed to get people talking about him. Clever, this Yoann Richomme. By commenting on the Vendée Globe 2020-2021 during very popular educational sessions on social networks, the sailor managed to catch a bit of the light that shines on the world tour. “
I had a blast following him with my weather analyzes. It cost me less than it earned me because it surely counted to score points and allow me to find partners. It showed my pedagogical approach and my ability to simply tell complex things.
“, He explained to Figaro, this Friday at the end of the morning, a few hours before its partnership with the companies Paprec and Arkéa is formalized until 2025.
The double winner of the Solitaire du Figaro (2016-2019) and winner of the Route du rhum, in Class40 (2019), therefore changes gear and will take the helm of the new Paprec-Arkéa monohull which will set off for the round the world solo 2024. “
This is the culmination of many years of work.
And a relief, he
admits to us,
happy despite a bad cold.
I had been looking for a long time.
And it's really frustrating when you can't find it and you see your friends going
”.
Yoann Richomme and Antoine Koch Eloi Stichelbaut / PolaRYSE / Team Paprec Arkéa
This time, it is he who "
goes there
".
And it is deserved to believe Cédric Malengreau, general manager of Arkéa.
“
Yoann is a brilliant sailor who is part of the very closed circle of the double winners of the Solitaire du Figaro.
What is interesting about him is that he also has an entrepreneurial vision.
Beyond the prize list, it is therefore also his personality that seduced us.
We strongly believe in Yoann's ability to unite, lead, perform, share and represent
”.
At the start of the Vendée Globe, I will know my boat by heart
Yoann Richomme
To launch their new racing team, and no longer rely on an existing structure, as in the previous campaign (concluded by the abandonment of Sébastien Simon after a shock with an Ofni then his disembarkation), Arkéa and Paprec have thus chose to entrust the “keys to the truck” to Yoann Richomme. To the question: "
what are your assets for winning the Vendée Globe?"
", The person does not procrastinate:"
It is already this part of setting up the project, to bring back hungry competitors to the team. I was worried about having trouble recruiting but in the end it went well, he
explains.
We are already five operational and we will be twelve next January. Then there is the engineering and design side. I love that. Construction of the boat began in September after Antoine Koch and Finot Conq were chosen as architects. We are going to build a boat similar to Thomas Rouillard's, but not totally the same. And at the start of the Vendée Globe, I will know my boat by heart. The launch being planned after the Route du rhum in January 2023, I will have four sunbeds before as training
”. Design objective declared? "
Make a more all-terrain boat that goes better in waves to improve average speed.
And the Finot-Conq firm is ahead in the simulation.
It is backed by an architect from Team New Zealand (America's Cup) and you can use its simulator.
As for Antoine Koch, whom I did not know, he is an interesting character who has a fine knowledge of our environment.
It's a great meeting.
"
I know the difficulty of the task.
I will approach it with humility
Yoann Richomme
Asked about his ambition, the former Figarist does not kick in touch again. Not the kind of house. “
It's always difficult to go and sell a victory in the Vendée Globe but we are aiming for the highest steps of the podium. With the means they give me and the team that we are building, we have set ourselves the ambition of winning the Vendée Globe. I know the difficulty of the task. I will approach it with humility
”. And all the more so since Richomme has never set foot in the great south. "
Obviously, this is not an asset but it is not crippling, as François Gabart and Charlie Dalin have proven.
This great South is the crazy part of the world tour, out of the ordinary.
It's absolutely awesome and I'm lucky to go and check it out.
I will approach it with humility.
For the moment, that does not stress me but it will come, for sure…
”
To live his great planetary adventure, Yoann Richomme will have to leave his partner and his two little daughters, now aged 4 and 1, on the platform.
“
At home, they are used to my rhythm of life
”.
No doubt, but with a Vendée Globe, the change of category and pace is brutal.
Another challenge, and not the only one, on the poorly paved road around the world.
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