After a nail-biting suspense, Guillaume Pirouelle and Cédric Chateau, second in the first leg of the Transat Café L’Or in La Coruña, won the second leg in Fort-de-France last Monday, securing the overall victory in Class40, 7 minutes and 21 seconds ahead of the duo Corentin Douguet/Axel Tréhin (SNSM Faites un don!). From Martinique, the two skippers of Seafrigo-Sogestran recount the race.
The Transat Café L’Or has delivered part of its verdict with victories for the duos Tom Laperche/Franck Cammas in Ultim, Baptiste Hulin/Thomas Rouxel in Ocean Fifty, and Jérémie Beyou/Morgan Lagravière in Imoca. Sailorz looks back at the end of the week, in the company of weather router Dominic Vittet, Matthieu Souben, winner of the transatlantic race in 2021 in Ocean Fifty, Erwan Tabarly, coach at the Port-la-Forêt offshore racing hub, Yves Le Blevec, director of Team Actual, and journalist Pierre-Marie Bourguinat, editor in charge of covering the race for the organization.
The start of the Transat Café L’Or was given in two stages last weekend, Saturday for the Ocean Fifty, Sunday for the three other classes (to follow on our website). Sailorz looks back at the first few days and discusses the current weather challenges, in the company of Jean-Yves Bernot, weather specialist and router, Imoca skipper Nicolas Lunven, Erwan Le Draoulec, who capsized last Saturday on the Ocean Fifty Lazare x Hellio, and Erwan Israël, member of the Gitana Team.
74 duos will start the Transat Café L’Or on Sunday from 2 p.m. As before every major race, Sailorz has gathered a panel of experts to discuss the contenders. After the Ocean Fifty and Class 40 last week, the focus is on the Imoca and Ultim classes with Imoca skippers Paul Meilhat, Sébastien Simon, and Nicolas Lunven, Charles Caudrelier, who is awaiting his next Gitana 18 in December, the race director of the 24h Ultim, Christophe Gaumont, and the director of the Finistère offshore racing hub, Jeanne Grégoire.
At 28, Tom Laperche is preparing to compete in his third consecutive Transat Café L’Or on the Ultim SVR-Lazartigue, with a new co-skipper, Franck Cammas, but still with ambitions for victory. Interviewed in Le Havre on Thursday, the winner of the 2022 Solitaire du Figaro spoke with Sailorz.
On October 26, 74 duos will start the Transat Café L’Or. As before every major race, Sailorz has gathered a panel of experts to discuss the contenders. This week, the focus is on the Ocean Fifty and the Class40 with four former winners, the defending champions Quentin Vlamynck (Ocean Fifty) and Nicolas Andrieu (Class40), Matthieu Souben (Ocean Fifty 2021) and Antoine Carpentier (Ocean Fifty 2019, Class40 2017 and 2021), as well as Alexis Loison, winner of the Solitaire du Figaro 2025, and Léonard Legrand, a newcomer to Ocean Fifty in 2026.
The organisers of the Transat Café L’Or unveiled the key features of the 2025 edition’s budget on Monday. A rising budget of 5.9 million euros, to which must be added the cost for the arrival destination, around 1.4 million. Sailorz tells you more.
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