The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Vendée Globe: Yannick Bestaven, unexpected winner of a crazy race

2021-01-28T07:13:38.126Z


If Charlie Dalin crossed the line first, the Vendée Globe victory goes to Yannick Bestaven. A revenge for the one who, during


He is the one we weren't expecting, the one who had probably never imagined winning the Vendée Globe.

If Charlie Dalin was the first to cross the finish line on Wednesday evening, it is indeed the name of Yannick Bestaven who will be included in the prize list of the most prestigious sailing race in the world.

“I have the impression of hallucinating, breathes the hero of the day.

I don't really realize what's happening to me, it's a childhood dream come true.

“Despite the 80 days spent at sea, Yannick Bestaven does not shake his huge smile.

The skipper of Maître Coq had in his pocket a compensation of 10:15 for having diverted, with 3 other competitors, to the rescue of Kevin Escoffier, then shipwrecked in the Indian Ocean.

It was long thought that the game of compensations (recovered after the rescue of Kevin Escoffier) ​​which has caused so much talk in recent hours, would benefit the German Boris Herrmann, who hit a trawler in the last straight line and will not join the Sables-d'Olonne that Thursday, at the end of the morning.

It was finally Yannick Bestaven who took the victory, ahead of Charlie Dalin and Louis Burton.

With a hell of a game of poker, decided on the outskirts of the Azores.

Then 5th at 400 km from Dalin, Bestaven losing ground, chose to head north to dive better towards Les Sables.

A tactic that paid off for those who absolutely wanted to forget their 2008 Vendée Globe where he had dismasted after only a few hours of racing.

“Preparing for a Vendée for years and stopping after 24 hours of racing is very complicated, for Yannick it was quite painful”, says Jean-Marie Dauris, his childhood friend and director of the Master project. Cock.

"We're a little old school"

The wound took a long time to heal.

Bestaven started with an associate Watt and Sea, a company specializing in hydrogenerators for boats, while continuing to sail in Class40.

When in 2018, Maître Coq, located in Vendée, wanted to relaunch a sailing project, Yannick Bestaven submitted an application.

Especially since with shareholders, he bought from Roland Jourdain the boat used by Morgan Lagravière during the Vendée 2020.

“We set up a project with a serious team and a reliable boat,” explains Jean-Marie Dauris.

A humble and discreet project.

“We're a bit old school,” continues the Team director.

And Yannick is not a com guy.

His videos of the edge were a hit as soon as the descent of the Atlantic.

Yannick, the rather reserved sailor, lets go.

And shows himself taking a shower on his boat, in the simplest device.

In La Rochelle, every Sunday, Loïse and Mona, her two daughters, watch for the weekly call.

"He asks me how school is going, if I have good grades in math," smiles Mona.

He tells us about the beautiful landscapes they see, the albatrosses he meets.

In the Pacific Ocean, where he is celebrating his 48th birthday, the situation is tense.

Yannick Bestaven is in the lead, but the conditions are tough.

“It's tough a Vendée Globe.

The cold, the humidity, and even the loneliness, sums up Bestaven.

Our boats are uncomfortable, even more so in heavy seas with strong winds ”.

"Taken hostage by the oceans"

This Vendée, however, he prepared with a coach, a specialist in "decision-making in performance".

Yannick and Eric Blondeau worked upstream.

"What it's like to face a storm, to pass Cape Horn, to go and save someone, we imagined everything before the start, in order to avoid being surprised and having the resources to cope, ”explains the specialist.

During the 80 days at sea, exchanges were almost daily, sometimes late at night.

“The man is not prepared to be taken hostage by the oceans, Yannick went through moments of annoyance, which he had to overcome by projecting himself into the next stage, continues Eric Blondeau.

He had to be done every three flat days

(Editor's note: after Cape Horn, which made him lose his first place)

, in the same way, even when he was in the lead

(Editor's note: in the Pacific )

, he never got carried away.

"

Morning essentials newsletter

A tour of the news to start the day

Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters

Maybe because he couldn't imagine such a performance.

“Passing Cape Horn in the lead, I thought I could win, along Brazil, I told myself too bad, and then, in the last days, I managed to regain sufficient time on Charlie ( Dalin).

This Vendée Globe was a global regatta.

"Yannick had entered this race to complete the world tour and finish among the top 10," recalls Jean-Marie Dauris.

The skipper, who finished his race with his foot to the ground, did a lot better.

This epicurean, passionate about sports - especially kiteboarding and skiing - will meet his daughters, his partner Claire and his group of friends.

And the afternoons in front of the rugby matches at the Stade Rochelais.

Source: leparis

All sports articles on 2021-01-28

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.