There were random force 2 to 3 breezes which disrupted the fleet as squally clouds alternated with summer sun. The competitors were at the top of their form as usual: This cocktail suited
Loïck Peyron. In this atmosphere, the seven-time winner of the
Trophée Clairefontaine played the race in the sailing stadium strategically, occasionally like a street-playing child, but more often with pure talent. In other words Peyron-style! And his two loyal crewmen, Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant and Gilles André were looking for more. The trio did some fine sailing and the results followed.
Franck Cammas, however, came out with three wins of his own, far ahead of the pack. He missed taking the lead by two points.
Michel Desjoyeaux was not to be outdone, with two wins also. However, the triple winner of the
Trophée Clairefontaine often found
Yann Eliès in his way and was unable to win back those few points that would have enabled him to win. Like Franck Cammas, this evening, Michel Desjoyeaux ended up two points behind Loïck Peyron. He will look for his revenge tomorrow...
Yann Eliès and two partners back together again: Fred Le Peutrec and Franck Citeau - the Tornado tandem at the Atlanta Olympic Games - won two runs and got into a mess with Michel Desjoyeaux a few times, under the critical and watchful eye of the general public. It is sometimes hard to be a champion. For his first time racing the
Trophée Clairefontaine, Yann Eliès came in sixth. Ahead of him, with equal points, but ranked to the fore, since he was better positioned in the last leg, came
Luc Dubois and his crewmen from the
Alinghi Team. They learned to play the game in these fun regattas in which everything happens so fast, and from time to time in all directions. They are enough to make one lose track of the race.
For his first experience sailing a turbo catamaran,
Nicolas Troussel, the Figaro racer, finished in second position three times. He ended up with a fine fourth position for his first attempt.
Vincent Riou and
Jérémie Beyou came up the rear, not without causing some debate, since in the
Trophée Clairefontaine legs each champion is ahead at some time or another. Anything can happen right up to the finishing line. Guaranteed suspense!
The
Rhodia Warm-up is a
warm-up race whose result does not count in the ranking of the
Trophée Clairefontaine. The official legs will start on Saturday at 9.30 a.m. However, this evening, we have a few more elements to allow us to imagine who will animate the debates this year.
Tomorrow, Météo Strategy (
www.meteostrategy.com) forecasts a force 2 to 4 breeze. This means that there will be beautifully smooth sailing in the Bay of Quiberon for the three Open races, with a stopover on the Island of Houat. It will be quick, wet and a few champions may experience the always emotional moment of capsizing, in the true
Trophée Clairefontaine tradition... At 17:00 the champions will return to the sailing stadium for a battleships-style Run at the end of the day.
Rhodia Warm-up Ranking:
1- Loïck Peyron, 52 pts ;
2- Franck Cammas, 50 pts ;
3- Michel Desjoyeaux , 50 pts ; 4- Nicolas Troussel, 41 pts ; 5- Luc Dubois - Team Alinghi (Sui.), 38 pts ; 6- Yann Eliès, 38 pts ; 7- Vincent Riou, 23 pts ; 8- Jérémie Beyou, 19 pts.
