Tom Laperche has shattered the Route du Rhum record, crossing the finish line off Guadeloupe aboard SVR-Lazartigue at 10.31pm and 40 seconds local time on Sunday (3.31am and 40 seconds Paris time).
The 29-year-old Frenchman seized control of the race at Cap Fréhel and never relinquished it. He completed the crossing in 6 days, 13 hours, 27 minutes and 40 seconds, claiming the record for the most prestigious of the ocean sprints.
That time beats the mark set in 2022 by Charles Caudrelier aboard Gitana 17 by 6 hours, 19 minutes and 45 seconds.
Laperche is also now only the third skipper under 30 to win the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe. Laurent Bourgnon did it at 28 in 1994, and Marc Pajot at 29 back in 1982.
His arrival at Pointe-à-Pitre came after a total race time of 6 days, 13 hours, 27 minutes and 40 seconds across a distance of 4,308.32 nautical miles. Average speed on the great-circle route worked out to 22.27 knots, with real average speed at 27.18 knots.
Across the 3,542 theoretical miles between Saint-Malo and Pointe-à-Pitre, Laperche gave his rivals no chance whatsoever. Sailing a trimaran that has reached full maturity, and one he knows intimately, he was quick in every condition, nimble through transitions, and sharp and commanding from the opening miles of the race.
Confidence, talent and hard graft all lined up at once. Hard to beat that combination.
It caps an extraordinary rise for the young Frenchman. His grandfather was a sailor, his father a dental surgeon who had himself raced the Route du Rhum as an amateur, and family friends include names like Bourgnon and Coville. Laperche first sailed aboard Thomas Coville's Orma trimaran at just eight years old.
"Tom has always been very dedicated in everything he does," says his father Philippe.
That dedication paid off early. Laperche won the Solitaire du Figaro in 2022 aged just 25, before stepping aboard SVR-Lazartigue alongside François Gabart and later Franck Cammas.
He was forced to retire from the Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest in 2024.
This Route du Rhum win answers that setback in the only way that matters, with one of the sport's most prestigious titles.
