The 57th Solitaire du Figaro Paprec comes to a close on Saturday in Le Havre with the prize-giving ceremony, crowning Nicolas Lunven, only the seventh sailor in history to claim a third overall victory. To look back on this edition, Sailorz brought together three other three-time winners, Jérémie Beyou, Yann Eliès and Armel Le Cléac’h, along with the 2021 and 2025 champions, Pierre Quiroga and Alexis Loison.
The 2026 Solitaire du Figaro Paprec came to an end with what Armel Le Cléac’h described as “a brute-force leg”, notably marked by eight retirements. “It was one of the toughest editions I’ve followed from the outside, requiring both stamina and technical skill,” notes Pierre Quiroga. “The third leg is often the hardest because fatigue has built up, but this time the weather conditions really raised the stakes, with far more unstable wind than forecast during the first 24 hours, meaning the skippers couldn’t get any rest, followed by strong winds in the English Channel,” adds Alexis Loison.
The leg also produced one major heartbreak: Tom Dolan (Kingspan), who led the overall rankings when leaving Pornichet, ran aground in the Chaussée de Sein after falling asleep while lying second, right on Loïs Berrehar’s heels. “We’ve all fallen asleep at some point; unfortunately for him, it happened at the worst possible moment. I still get chills thinking about the moment we heard his distress call on the VHF,” comments Alexis Loison, who was aboard the race direction vessel. “He was giving a real masterclass. It felt like he’d already done the hardest part, especially as we knew he’d be extremely competitive in the breeze that was coming.”
“It’s devastating for him. He must be blaming himself, but I’m sure he’ll bounce back very quickly, just as he did this year after last season’s difficult Solitaire” (he retired because of an injury),“ adds Armel Le Cléac’h. For Jérémie Beyou, who knows the 2024 Solitaire winner well after sailing with him aboard his Imoca Charal, “it shows just how demanding this race is. In a split second, you can go from the very top to the very bottom. It’s incredibly cruel for Tom because he had everything under control. Honestly, it brought tears to my eyes.”
“A Morvan in the Figaro,
always spells trouble!”
In the end, Paul Morvan (Foricher-French Touch) took the honours in Le Havre, winning ten years after the last (and sixth) stage victory of his father Gildas. The result secured him third overall, matching both his father’s record (four podium finishes) and his brother Gaston’s (third overall in 2024)! “He earned that win the hard way,” admires Yann Eliès. “After the Casquets TSS, they were all running on empty, but Paul found the physical and mental resources for one final push. Hats off to him!” “A Morvan in the Figaro always spells trouble!” smiles Alexis Loison. “Paul has genuinely stepped up a level this year. I think sailing with Jérémie Beyou during the pre-season taught him a huge amount.”
The latter, who won the Laura Vergne Trophy with the youngest member of the Morvan family, is well placed to assess his progress: “What’s remarkable is that he doesn’t sail like a 23-year-old. He has an incredible ability to absorb situations he has either experienced himself or observed in others. I often heard him say: “I’ve seen this before, I know how it’s going to play out.” And I’d reply: “How can you say that when you’ve only done two Solitaires and I’ve done twenty?” But in reality, these were things he’d stored away from watching his father, Armel (Le Cléac’h) and others. He’s completely immersed in it; it’s his life. We’re dealing with a dynasty, but more than genetics, it’s a story of passion for the sport and for this race. It’s great to see.”
“Nico is the best
strategist on the circuit”
Even so, two sailors finished ahead of Paul Morvan, starting with Nicolas Lunven, the elder statesman of the fleet, who at 43 years old joins the exclusive club of three-time Solitaire winners, alongside Philippe Poupon, Jean Le Cam, Michel Desjoyeaux, Jérémie Beyou, Yann Eliès and Armel Le Cléac’h, earning the admiration of his peers. “It’s an extraordinary achievement to make up a technical deficit on the boat in just six months and turn it into overall victory,” begins Yann Eliès.
“We watched him all winter preparing methodically and patiently, and he made excellent use of his partnership with Tom Goron, which gave him a fast-track education on the Figaro 3. Nico is a true solo sailor in every sense of the term,” adds Jérémie Beyou. For Pierre Quiroga, “he delivered a classic Nicolas Lunven performance: no mistakes, always in the right place, consistently quick, never taking excessive risks. A real masterclass!“
Not even the brutal final stage could derail the forty-something skipper, prompting Alexis Loison to say: “At the start in Pornichet, I sensed he was a little concerned because he was about to face conditions he’d never encountered before in a Figaro 3. In the end, he delivered. He was the strongest sailor out there, and that’s hugely inspiring.“ For Armel Le Cléac’h, “Nico is the best strategist on the circuit, and we’re delighted because he’ll be part of our routing team aboard Banque Populaire XI for the Route du Rhum!”
Paul Loiseau “sets
new benchmarks”
The PRB skipper ultimately finished 29 minutes ahead of Alexis Thomas (Wings of The Ocean), who at the age of 30 claimed his first Solitaire podium finish in his sixth attempt. “He’s been around for several years without quite breaking through, producing inconsistent results. It took him some time to find the right balance, but this second place is fully deserved and a great showcase for the La Rochelle training centre, which is doing excellent work,” analyses Pierre Quiroga. For Alexis Loison, “for some time now we’d seen that he had found the speed and mastered the boat perfectly. This year he managed to take another step forward by taming the over-eager side of his character that had occasionally held him back.”
Paul Morvan therefore completed the podium ahead of another revelation of this 57th edition, Paul Loiseau (20, Région Bretagne-CMB Espoir), fourth overall and top rookie, leading Yann Eliès, coach at the Port-la-Forêt Finistère training centre, to remark: “Just over six months ago, we were still wondering whether to put him into the final selection for the Espoir challenge. It was a gamble because he came from dinghy sailing with no offshore experience whatsoever, and he’s ended up smashing every expectation.” Armel Le Cléac’h adds: “Now he’ll need to process this outstanding Solitaire and mature a little faster than expected, because he’ll be under much closer scrutiny. But I’m not worried; he’s surrounded by the right people.”
Loïs Berrehar (Banque Populaire) completed the top five, a result below the expectations placed on a skipper who, before the race, was considered one of the leading favourites. “His race came down to a matter of minutes, when he suffered electronic issues during the thunderstorms at the start of the second stage. Aside from that, he was in contention more than 90% of the time: second in the opening stage and third in the final one,” analyses Armel Le Cléac’h. “Even though he came aiming for victory, he has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Now he’ll focus on his Imoca project, which was already occupying part of his mind.”
Finally, our panel highlighted the impressive return of the veterans Martin Le Pape (Paprec) and Adrien Hardy (Sans Nature pas de Futur), sixth and seventh overall — “It does show that a few years spent wearing out foul-weather gear in the Figaro fleet pays off,” sums up Alexis Loison — as well as the underwhelming result of Tom Goron (Xplorassur), 12th in his second Solitaire at the age of 20. “We expected more from him because he’s incredibly talented and thinks at lightning speed, but he paid a heavy price for his autopilot failure at the very start of the opening stage, and never really recovered. It proves once again that in the Solitaire, you have to make zero mistakes. He paid his dues and learned from it, but he’s one of those young sailors who absorbs everything and has the potential to win,” predicts Jérémie Beyou.
Photo : JB D’Enquin
