Thomas André and Colombe Julia have won the 2026 Offshore Double Handed World Championship, prevailing in a final-race showdown that went to the wire in fickle Mediterranean conditions.
The French pair crossed the finish line at 12:20:26 on Friday 2 October after more than two days of racing, having overhauled Australian leaders Annie Stevenson and Peter Winter on the final leg from Planier Lighthouse.
André, reigning 2025 event winner, and Julia are both current Figaro sailors who previously raced together in the 470 Olympic class. Their ability to swap seamlessly between helm and crew proved decisive as they committed to the right-hand side of the course, finding better pressure beneath the cliffs to retake the lead.
"It was so intense," André said. "Every time there was always something happening. Upwind we were tacking every 10–15 minutes. We managed to take every lift from every headland."
The Australians had seized the lead on the final morning by staying closer to shore, but could not hold off the French charge. Belgium's Jonas Gerckens and Djemila Tassin, who holds the Class40 24-hour distance record, took third in a photo finish just eight seconds ahead of Uruguay. A subsequent time penalty for the Uruguayan team dropped them to fifth, promoting the Netherlands' Christine Walta and Simeon Tienpont—veteran of three Volvo Ocean Races and two America's Cup wins—to fourth.
The 190-nautical-mile course began with a 90NM beat in 20 knots and one-to-two-metre seas to a turning mark off Cannes, where the breeze collapsed for the run back to Marseille. The fleet raced in a matched set of Sun Fast 30 One Design yachts supplied by organisers.
The 2027 championship will be held in Cannes in mid-October.
