It always remains an event, a brightening in a gloomy spring, a window towards a summer which promises to be radiant. The announcement of the route of the Solitaire du Figaro Paprec. And that of the 55th edition, with three long stages of more than 600 miles, is no exception to the rule. It has just been unveiled this Friday afternoon in Rouen, home of the Figarists, for a major premiere, from August 17. After a week spent in Normandy and a descent of the original Seine on Friday August 23, the expected forty sailors will set off on Sunday 25 off Le Havre for a first stage of 615 miles which will take the fleet to Gijon (Spain) via the English lighthouse of Wolf Rock and the Bay of Biscay.
This well-known stopover in Gijon, with a backdrop of tapas (and sometimes gin and tonic), without forgetting the essential rest despite the long local evenings, is particularly appreciated by race followers and skippers. Back on their feet, they will take the helm again on Sunday September 1, heading west, to round a buoy off Cape Finisterre before crossing the Bay of Biscay to land in Royan (second time stopover city after 2022) with Another 605 miles in the legs.
The route of the 55th edition OC Sport Pen Duick
It will be necessary to add 620 miles, weather permitting, to reach La Turballe, a unique port for the Solitaire and final destination in Loire-Atlantique, a major partner of the race. And for this 3rd stage, planned as the longest, the Figarists will follow the coastal courses to the tip of Brittany before crossing the Channel to the Skerries Bank course mark in front of the English coast then going back down towards Belle- Ile and La Turballe for a final arrival estimated around Thursday September 12.
The DNA of racing
A difficult and very varied program concocted by OC Sport Pen Duick and Yann Château, the race director:
“It’s a very nice course faithful to the DNA of La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, made up of three big stages of 600 miles each approximately, which will alternate between the coastal and the offshore. They will offer varied conditions to competitors and allow them to explore different playing fields
,” he believes.
In media competition, in quotes, with the Paris Paralympic Games (August 28 - September 8), the Solitaire du Figaro Paprec has all the assets to exist in the heart of this boiling hot sporting summer. And the revival seen during the preparatory races (with 16 rookies during the Solo Guy Cotten) confirms that the oldest French offshore race is in Olympic form.