LIONEL LEMONCHOIS JOINS THE 2007 CHAMPIONS

Following his superb victory in the Route du Rhum - La Banque Postale at the helm of Gitana 11, Lionel Lemonchois very logically joins the line-up of the XVIIIth Trophée Clairefontaine des Champions de Voile. This is the second time, Lionel Lemonchois will sail this event scheduled from Thursday, August 30th, to Sunday, September 2nd since he has already accompanied Karine Fauconnier at the Cap d'Agde in 2000 after their victory in the two-man crewed Transat AG2R. This time, Lionel Lemonchois will be at the helm, champion amongst the champions.

Five champions already have their entrance ticket for the eighteenth Trophée Clairefontaine. The 2006 podium will have to do battle again, in order: Franck Cammas, Jérémie Beyou and Loïck Peyron, who, this season, has won the Swiss catamarans Decision 35 Championship in front of Ernesto Bertarelli. The fourth champion invited has the most beautiful French sailing CV with regard to single-handed oceanic racing. Michel Desjoyeaux is thus also asked to get his oilskin ready for September 2007.

Yann Eliès is the fifth champion invited. He owes his invitation to his recent and second Single-handed Offshore Sailing French Championship title he landed September 28th following his victory in the Course des Falaises in Fécamp (Normandy), a title he had already won in 2004, also following a victory in the Course des Falaises. Furthermore, Yann Eliès is also the Trophée Jules Verne non-stop round the world trip record-holder onboard maxi-catamarans Orange (2002) and Orange 2 (2005) alongside Bruno Peyron… and Lionel Lemonchois in 2005.

Moreover, during the 2007 Trophée Clairefontaine, Lionel Lemonchois will meet up again with Loïck Peyron, General Manager of Team Gitana, but mostly, with Franck Cammas amongst whose crew he won the 2000 Transat Québec - Saint-Malo and  London - Alpes-Maritimes this year at the opening of the season, each time onboard Groupama. Please note that Lionel Lemonchois has also won, just a year ago, the two-man crewed Transat Jacques Vabre onboard Banque Populaire IV alongside Pascal Bidégorry, who has actually finished the Route du Rhum - La Banque Postale in Lionel’s wake.

During the Trophée Clairefontaine, the eight champions will sail in a three-men crew (the champion at the helm and his two crew-members) on the spectacular SailingOne one-design catamaran (25’ - 7.65 m) exclusively designed and used to be entrusted by the organization once a year, to each of the eight stars of the event. Two invitations are still to be given away. The coming America's Cup should see to it…

Since it began, in 1990, the Trophée Clairefontaine is the only event in the world to unite champions from different disciplines on a totally equal footing, on spectacular yachts exclusively designed and used for this purpose, showing that sailing is both varied and unique, in the spirit of the general policy of the French Sailing Federation

The prize-giving of the Trophée Clairefontaine 2006 will be held on the Morbihan stand in the Brittany section of the Paris International Boat Show Thursday, December 7th at 5.30pm, with the everlasting support of the South Brittany oyster farming regional section. We will celebrate this year’s podium, introduce the invited champions of the eighteenth Trophée Clairefontaine (August 30th to September 2nd 2007), and disclose the name of the next host port of the next Trophée Clairefontaine.

Media enquiries: Clémentine Chaignaud: +33 145 780 428 - +33 603 943 444