All eight Ultims in existence will line up on the same start line for the Route du Rhum, the first time the entire class has assembled for a single race.
Defending champion Charles Caudrelier returns with a genuinely revolutionary machine, Gitana 18, though it remains far from fully developed. Armel Le Cléac'h aboard Maxi Banque Populaire XI and Thomas Coville on Sodebo Ultim 3 are backing proven trimarans instead. Anthony Marchand has inherited the boat that won in 2022, now racing as Actual Ultim 4, while Tom Laperche's SVR-Lazartigue carries serious credentials to upset the established order. Guirec Soudée on Liamm, Alexia Barrier aboard IDEC Sport-CIC and Louis Burton on Ultim Armand Thiery all bring question marks of their own.
The biggest unknown is Caudrelier's new boat. Launched just eight months before the start, the new Maxi Edmond de Rothschild is fitted with Y-shaped foils and designed to fly permanently, pushing the technological boundaries of the class. The team skipped September's set-piece confrontations to focus on trials and reliability, so the Route du Rhum will be the boat's first real taste of competition.
"Last time I said the weak link could be me. Today I have the experience, and it's the boat that still lacks offshore miles," Caudrelier said. "Gitana 18 is very promising, but still very much in development. We won't be at 100 percent of its potential at the start, even though the team has given everything to make us competitive. Usually it takes two or three years to develop a boat like this. And when you choose to innovate this much, you inevitably take risks."
Rival Tom Laperche is watching closely. "It's potentially a concept and a generation above our current boats. There will surely be moments when it goes very fast, and Charles handles the solo discipline perfectly. But nobody really knows where they stand today. It's intriguing."
Laperche himself arrives with a well-sorted boat and fresh credibility after winning the 24H Ultim. "I'm very happy to start this first Route du Rhum in such conditions, with a sorted boat and a strong team," he said. "It's a race that made me dream as a kid. Those images are really what made me want to race offshore."
Two sailors carry unfinished business into this race. Armel Le Cléac'h will start for a fifth time, never having won it despite a record that includes the Vendée Globe, the Solitaire du Figaro and the Transat Jacques Vabre. He was second in 2010. Thomas Coville returns fresh off his Jules Verne Trophy record set last winter, starting his eighth Rhum, twenty-eight years after winning it in IMOCA.
Marchand's boat needs no introduction. It is the former Gitana 17, the trimaran Caudrelier used to win the last edition and set the race record. Marchand, discovering the Rhum himself, knows the standard has only risen since. "On the 24H Ultim I was quite surprised by the pace we managed to hold. We sail these boats almost like Figaros, constantly adjusting, playing with the sheets, the traveller, the sails. Six days at that tempo, that's something to look forward to."
Louis Burton is the most dramatic newcomer, stepping up from fifteen years in monohulls, including third place in the 2020-2021 Vendée Globe. His trimaran, launched in 2015 and long raced under other colours, is less new than several rivals' boats but well proven. "Of the eight of us, three are relative beginners in this category," he said. "The others already have their foot on the accelerator. I'll try to stay humble, avoid mistakes, and watch how they sail." He rates sixth as realistic but hasn't ruled out more.
Guirec Soudée brings an unusual résumé, having become the fastest sailor to complete a solo reverse circumnavigation in an Ultim earlier this year. Transferring that into Rhum pace is another matter entirely. "It's going to be very hard to fight for the podium. But it's also a very tough boat. What's certain is that, as always, I'll give the best of myself. I'll be at 300 percent."
Alexia Barrier becomes the first woman to start the Route du Rhum in Ultim. "There are only eight Ultims on the planet and they'll all be at the start, it's incredible," she said. She will also deploy a scientific buoy capable of gathering data to 2,000 metres depth during the crossing, tracked by primary school classes as part of an education programme.
The crossing itself typically takes between five and eight days, likely closer to six or seven depending on conditions, leaving little time to settle in and even less room to recover once underway. "It's really a sprint," said Laperche. "The format is short enough to push your limits hard, especially around sleep. But at these speeds you cross several weather systems, with constant sail changes and manoeuvres."
