Axel Tréhin 4th, Thimoté Polet 5th, Achille Nebout 6th, William Mathelin-Moreaux 7th

Axel Tréhin, Affaire à faire, 4th

“It was only the boat’s fifth outing—I added 27 items to the job list—but there weren’t too many major issues, so that’s not bad! Starting well-rested definitely helps; there were two nights where I completely crashed, so it was very up and down in terms of managing my pace. Toward the end it got a bit better, but it was a little late. The boat has its own particular traits—you have to adapt and find the right settings—but I’m happy. It’s a good boat, and I feel like we’re going to achieve great things together!”

Thimoté Polet, Zeiss, 5th

“The goal was to assess the work done over the winter—the boat is well prepared, and I didn’t have any breakages. We found some great bursts of speed both downwind and upwind; we had done four training sessions focused on that, so that’s a positive.

Solo racing was tough—we had very few opportunities to sleep. The conditions were very unstable, so going to rest meant accepting being slower, and that just wasn’t an option. So we really had to push ourselves on that front. It went well, but it couldn’t have lasted much longer!

There was one night where I almost blacked out, and another where I threw up, which never normally happens to me!”

Achille Nebout, Amarris, 6th

“It was a really great race! After three years on my boat, this was my first solo race, and I really enjoyed it. We had good conditions, which made things safe. Everything wasn’t perfect—I had a few areas where I struggled, especially downwind; I think I can do better than I did.

But overall, I’m happy with my race. My goal was to focus on myself and life on board, and I did that really well: I slept well and ate well. I’m finishing in good shape—I could have kept up the pace for longer. I think that’s why I managed to come back well toward the end, because I handled that side of things properly.

I’ve achieved my goals, and for the next races I’ll be able to push the bar a bit higher.”

William Mathelin-Moreaux, Patapain Les Invincibles, 7th

“It was an amazing race, apart from the slightly disappointing finish, with a few small mistakes on my part! But the rest was fantastic—everything went well, the maneuvers, the upwind legs—it was incredibly stimulating to always stay in close contact!

That said, in terms of managing my rhythm… I ate really well, but sleep was more complicated. I had two blackouts, despite having three alarms—from my phone, my watch, and the boat—which is pretty intense. I woke up after an hour and a half with a ringing in my ears!

Overall, it’s very positive. I had an incredible time, I felt in sync with the boat, there were some truly magical moments—I can’t wait to get back out there!”