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Franck Cammas (Team Groupama) winner of the Trophée Clairefontaine in 2009, 2006 and 2000, will be the man to beat on the stretch of water at La Grande Motte from 9 to 12 September 2010. Photo Jean-Marie Liot / SailingOne. The 21st Trophée Clairefontaine des Champions de Voile programmed for Thursday 9 to Sunday 12 September at La Grande Motte, near Montpellier, will mark the twentieth anniversary of this event created in 1990 at La Trinité-sur-Mer. As for every season since the start of this event, a line-up of eight sailing stars has been formed, with a veiled reference to its past, since Serge Madec, the symbolic skipper of the Jet Services V catamaran and the first winner, will be there for the party.
Franck Cammas, last year the winner in La Grande Motte, but also in 2000 and 2006, is invited twice over. He will defend his title as "Champion of Champions 2009". Above all, he is the new holder of the Jules Verne Trophy, the unbreakable record round the world, sailing on the giant Groupama 3 trimaran.
Loïck Peyron, seven times winner of the Trophée Clairefontaine, will be at La Grande Motte. Indeed, he only ever missed this important champion's event in 2000.
Michel Desjoyeaux, the sailor to hold the largest number of single-handed titles, already four times winner of the Trophée Clairefontaine is at present preparing the new Foncia for the Barcelona World Race which will leave on 31 December 2010, but he will also be present.
Team Alinghi, twice winner of the America's Cup (2003 and 2007) won the Valencia 2008 Trophée Clairefontaine (Spain). The usual crew will be back this season, with Luc Dubois at the helm, Pierre-Yves Jorand and Yves Detray.
Pascal Bidégorry is invited for his Atlantic Crossing Record (3 d, 15 ', 25"), the Speed Record in 24 hours (908 miles) on the maxi trimaran Banque Populaire V, but also for his recent Mediterranean Crossing record.
From Olympic sailing, Nicolas Charbonnier, silver medallist at the Olympic Games in Peking 2008 and silver medallist at the European Championship 2010, as ever on the 470, is a leading force in the Trophée Clairefontaine.
Armel Le Cléac'h was originally invited because of his victory in the Transat AG2R - La Mondiale 2010 with his crewman Fabien Delahaye on Brit Air. The trio will be completed by the sailor from Grand-Motte, Nicolas Bérenger. However, on 18 August 2010, Armel Le Cléac'h won the Solitaire du Figaro for the second time, following that of 2003.
Serge Madec will be back twenty years after opening the Trophée Clairefontaine honours list. Arthur, 22 years old, son of his 1990 crewman, Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant, will be on board, with the 21 year old Mathieu, son of Jean-François Fountaine.
Since it began in 1990 and therefore for the 21st consecutive time, the Trophée Clairefontaine is the only world event to reunite champions from such a variety of disciplines in international sailing, with strictly equal opportunity, on spectacular 7.65 metre catamarans, all completely identical, exclusively designed and used only for this sailing event.
Media relations: Sophie Grimaud / 33 (0)6 15 04 77 87 / sophiegrimaud@voila.fr (Download the press release in PDF)
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