The 2024-’25 Vendée Globe will have the highest number of non-French sailors ever
by Ed Gorman / IMOCA Globe Series 24 Sep 12:57 PDT
10 November 2024
Boris Herrmann, TEAM MALIZIA © Marie Le Floch / Team Malizia
The upcoming 2024-’25 Vendée Globe solo round-the-world race, commencing from Les Sables d’Olonne on France’s Biscay coast on November 10th, will include the highest number of non-French competitors since the race began in 1989.
With 14 out of 40 competitors coming from abroad, this race promises to be an international affair featuring sailors from countries such as Switzerland, Hungary, Great Britain, Italy, New Zealand, Japan, USA, Belgium, and Germany, with China participating for the first time.
Non-French participants include exceptionally competitive sailors in the foiling category. Notable among them are Germany’s Boris Herrmann (Malizia-Seaexplorer) and Great Britain’s Sam Davies (Initiatives-Coeur) and Sam Goodchild (Vulnerable), all vying to be the first foreign sailor to win the Vendée Globe.
Antoine Mermod, President of the IMOCA Class, commented that the increase in non-French participants for the 2024-’25 race highlights the IMOCA Class’s growing international appeal. “We are pleased to see so many international sailors taking on our biggest challenge in the Vendée Globe,” he stated. “I hope more single-handed sailors will draw inspiration from these men and women and join the race in 2028.”
Included among this time’s international entries is Hungarian sailor Szabolcs Weöres, becoming only the second from Hungary to compete in the Vendée Globe, following the legendary Nándor Fa, who started three times and completed two races. Alongside Spain’s José Luis Ugarte, Fa was among the first two non-French sailors to finish the Vendée Globe in 1992-’93.
Fa has motivated Weöres during this campaign. “He has been my mentor and has provided significant guidance,” Weöres noted, taking a pause amid the hectic pre-race preparation. “His past experiences in the IMOCA Class were invaluable from the outset. People in Hungary appreciate the emergence of a newcomer who continues his legacy and the presence of a solo sailor in this event.”
At 51, Weöres, a six-time Ironman competitor, is sailing the 2012 Owen Clarke-designed New Europe and is eager to compete, not merely to finish. “Finishing the Vendée Globe is undoubtedly my primary objective, but as a competitive individual, I hope to find rivals to race against. I expect to be in the third part of the fleet, but I want to maximize my boat’s potential,” he expressed.
Switzerland boasts the largest representation among non-French sailors this time, with three participants: Alan Roura on Hublot, Oliver Heer on Tut Gut.Sailing, and Justine Mettraux on Teamwork-Team SNEF. Roura takes pride in the fact that his landlocked, mountainous country, known for its winter sports, is highly represented in the “Everest” of solo yacht racing. “It’s the first time we have three Swiss sailors, and that feels pretty cool,” he remarked.
Switzerland’s interest in ocean and solo racing dates back to the Whitbread Round-the-World Race in the late 1980s when three Swiss crews participated in its precursor, The Ocean Race. This inspiration led to single-handed sailors and IMOCA legends like Dominique Wavre and Bernard Stamm racing solo on the ocean.
“We simply fell in love with it,” Roura said, preparing for his third Vendée Globe at 31, having finished 12th and 17th in previous editions. “We aimed to sail in the Atlantic because racing on Lake Geneva feels limited, and once you experience single-handed sailing, you want to continue. Dreaming of the Vendée Globe becomes part of the Swiss mindset towards offshore sailing.”
The three Swiss sailors share a close bond. Roura raced alongside Mettraux in the 2013 Mini Transat, and when he purchased the former Hugo Boss from Alex Thomson, Heer was the boat’s captain then. Though they are competitors, they also share friendship. “We communicate because we’ve been acquainted for a long time,” Roura said.
Like many others with older boats, Roura has made substantial modifications to his IMOCA for this race, including adjustments to the bow profile, ballast distribution, stern profile, and keel. He aims to “play,” as he describes it, with boats from his generation and anticipates a competitive race against sailors like Clarisse Crémer on L’Occitane En Provence, Pip Hare on Medallia, and Damien Seguin on Groupe APICIL.
The young Swiss sailor will approach the race with a fresh mindset as well. “In my first Vendée Globe, I focused on enjoying the experience rather than on performance, which was great,” he shared. “I lost that perspective in the second race, wanting to compete too much and forgetting the joy, so now I aim to enjoy sailing my boat. Living the race moment by moment is essential, as each could be my last, so I must embrace every second, savoring the now instead of worrying about the future or dwelling on the past.”
Historically, Italian sailors have ranked fourth among non-French competitors in the Vendée Globe, alongside American sailors, with six entries from five sailors, including the upcoming 2024 edition. As before, the sole Italian participant this time will be the indomitable Giancarlo Pedote, who achieved eighth place on Prysmian four years ago.
Pedote believes that while he may not be French, the national distinction has become less significant for him, having resided in Lorient, Brittany, where the IMOCA Class is based, since 2012. “While I am Italian and represent my country, it is not as clear-cut as it once was; I feel more integrated considering how long I’ve been living here,” he remarked.
The 48-year-old sailor from Florence enjoys considerable support back in Italy and from the media. “My career started with the Mini 6.5 and now with the Vendée Globe, my following has grown immensely. I strive to communicate daily about my journey, my preparations, the race, and my training. It’s gratifying to see that people are engaged – participating in this sort of global race is mutually beneficial,” he stated.
Similar to Roura, Pedote’s boat has undergone significant modifications, including a new bow and foils, anticipating they will perform well in the vast Southern Ocean. While he prefers not to define a specific finishing goal, he intends to do his best and leave the rest “in the hands of God.”
“We still race with the 2015 class of vessels, but I am very satisfied with the recent upgrades I have made,” he indicated. “I truly love my boat, which has a promising potential for solid performance. We have reinforced various areas, and I feel I possess the keys to improve.”
This year’s race sees an unprecedented representation from Asia among non-French entries. Japan’s Kojiro Shiraishi is competing in the Vendée Globe for the third time on DMG Mori Global One, while Jingkun Xu, the remarkable one-armed sailor from Qingdao, will become the first Chinese sailor to attempt the race aboard Singchain Team Haikou.
NON-FRENCH SKIPPERS IN THE 2024 VENDÉE GLOBE
Denis VAN WEYNBERGH
Kojiro SHIRAISHI
Alan ROURA
Conrad COLMAN
Sam DAVIES
Boris HERRMANN
Pip HARE
Szabolcs WEÖRES
Giancarlo PEDOTE
Jingkun XU
Oliver HEER
Justine METTRAUX
Sam GOODCHILD
