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Louis Burton: "After the Vendée Globe, there is revenge in the air on the Transat Jacques Vabre"

2021-11-05T08:42:49.946Z


Nice surprise and third in the last round-the-world race, the Malouin dreams of victory on his new Bureau Vallée between Le Havre and Fort de France. He confides in the “Figaro”.


LE FIGARO.

- Louis, did you have time to rest after your third place in the Vendée Globe?

Louis BURTON

- No, we did not really rest since we discovered the great enthusiasm of the sponsors immediately after returning from the round the world. And very quickly, they told us “

Ok to buy a new boat, OK with the entire Bureau Vallée network to sign a contract for an additional 5 years (until 2025)

 ”. Then we learned that the boat we coveted the most was still available so we had to work with the lawyers to be able to make an acquisition offer and start the sale of the old boat. And then once the boat was bought, we set off for a tour of Europe. So we had to wait until August to go on vacation for a month with the children and Servane (his wife) and since then things have been much better. Igot back to sleep.

With more and more project announcements, we can already feel a strong enthusiasm for the Vendée Globe 2024. How do you explain it?

This enthusiasm is real for the whole ocean race.

The Vendée Globe is an important driving force, as is the Route du Rhum.

There are more and more projects and boats being built.

And it is very linked to a collective awareness of renewable energies and the fact that we must take care of the planet.

The brands say to themselves that it is better to communicate on a sailing boat than on a rally car in the desert.

Sailing is a sport that presents values ​​that support this development in society.

Read also Transat Jacques Vabre: Charlie Dalin, a first in the class with tenfold ambitions

What does this change concretely for you?

Already on the water, the level is rising.

Overall, there are more and more projects that have the means to do well, so they train more and get better.

Suddenly, it is necessary to participate in as many races as possible.

If not on land, you have to be able to build long-lasting teams and this is not necessarily easy.

It also affects the payroll.

Because of the number of team members and skills required.

Do you think all this is going in the right direction?

I think it's great insofar as we manage to keep access to “adventure” projects and others that are not necessarily super fortunate.

Of course, it's more difficult to participate in lots of races when you don't have a lot of budget.

We have to be very careful in the future not to become too elitist a sport.

I hope that there will always be a diversity of profiles in the Vendée which makes this race interesting and in which everyone can identify.

We must continue to keep this balance to prevent sailors from becoming single profiles.

The other runners say hello more to me and talk to me more

Louis burton

Has the outlook of others on you changed since your podium in the Vendée Globe?

Yes.

Already in our corner of Saint-Malo, Cancale, Saint-Coulomb where I live, there is a real way out of anonymity and enormous benevolence.

And then the other runners say hello more to me and talk to me more.

This was not the case before.

At first, I was seen as someone who took the thing as a dilettante, when I think I was the one who worked the most because I was doing it with budget cues and I was working on the side like a crazy to get it all in balance.

I have always worked like a sick person to succeed today in arriving at something where you can really concentrate on it.

We have the means to work in good conditions.

And has your outlook on other people also changed?

No, not so much.

The generation before, that I looked at, kid, like idols, I always considered them with their different personalities like my stars… After I always thought that it was an environment which was difficult to penetrate, had a lot of prejudices and it is not because they have changed their outlook on me that I change my point of view on it.

It is not an easy environment to understand.

What is the use of the Transat Jacques Vabre on the Vendée Globe route?

She has a huge interest in us.

We go there with desires and possibilities of results.

We only had time to do two sailings before the tour of Europe that we finished 5th and last Imoca.

There we were able to work on the boat and we will be ready, having normally corrected all the faults that we could see.

And I hope that the race will serve us to achieve a good result, to have a lot of fun and then to see what we can still improve for the future.

What will be the theme of the next project?

This winter, we are doing a major structural project. The hull shape, very flat and rounded, takes a lot of shocks. So until now, whenever we've been in conditions where we could push the boat to the limits, I've always wanted us to ease off. This winter, we are strengthening. It is an important project which will allow us to have 100% confidence in the structure for the future. And we were able to work after the tour of Europe to design a set of specific sails. As such, the Transat Jacques-Vabre is an important event on the calendar. We are also expected by our sponsors on perfs during this race. And then we go to Martinique, it's super cool too. We are happy that things have changed.

There should be a different game that will reveal its share of surprises.

So potentially, there are going to be cuckolds, but unfortunately it is necessary

Louis burton

What does this new course inspire you?

Towards Brazil, there was a long run after the Doldrums to Itajaí or Salvador de Bahia which was of little use, the faster boats taking over. There, with two passes in the Doldrums, there should be a different match that will reveal its share of surprises. So potentially, there are going to be cuckolds, but unfortunately we have to (laughs). This should be interesting to follow, because it is going to be alive. What would be great would be to have an Ultime, an Imoca, an Ocean Fifty and a Class 40 who arrive at the finish line at the same time at the same time (the four classes have different courses planned to last the same time). This is the goal and it would be great. It can pose ego issues for some, but who cares?

Regarding your competitors, who were you afraid of?

Overall, the guys who had the latest generation machines in the Vendée Globe and who were able to resolve their technical problems.

I am thinking of Apivia and LinkedOut.

For Arkéa Paprec and Corum, it might be more difficult.

They still seem to have speed deficits even though their sailors are very good.

But there is revenge in the air.

You are competing for this transatlantic race with Davy Beaudart.

However, it is recommended not to work with a friend ...

We don't work, we have fun together (laughs).

Davy takes care of a lot of stuff on the project that I don't take care of and vice versa.

We each have our areas of expertise and what is very pleasant is that Davy is involved in the project throughout the year.

I have absolute confidence in him.

Me, he trusts me on bringing back the dough and handling the shit.

And after on the water, we have a lot of fun ...

You made the buzz by testing in September a homemade carrier plan on a rudder from your boat, explain to us ...

You know that during the vote on the regulations for the Vendée Globe 2024, there were 51-49% of the votes against the installation of load-bearing planes under the rudders. We talked about it with the guys from the technical team while messing around during the departure party of a collaborator at the end of June. And then we started. We made a load-bearing plane on an already existing rudder with a core in a very hard wood. We put 3 carbon rods and then after 28 carbon folds. We gauged the boat on Friday, Monday, we tried with that rudder. It was too big, the ass was rising. In the evening, we returned to the port, we decided with a ladle to remove 20 centimeters on each side with the grinder. And the next day, when we got out, it took off straight away and we had a blast all afternoon. We had friends on board,we were all in shorts and Docksides. It was goofy.

It is therefore absolutely necessary to authorize these promising plans ...

Yes, but it will be necessary to find a way at certain times not to fly, to be able to choose to remain in Archimedean, because in certain sea conditions it will go too quickly.

The new boats go so fast that when crossing the front lines, when the sea is not in the same direction, you can really blow everything up.

And in the great South, it is absolutely necessary to be able to brake ...

Source: lefigaro

All sports articles on 2021-11-05

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