Saint-Malo's harbour basins are full, the fleet is in, and there is nowhere left to hide. With the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe about to get underway, here is where each class stands.
In the Ultim class, technical teams have been busy right up to the wire. Anthony Marchand's Actual Ultim 3 has a new mast, Armel Le Cléac'h's Maxi Banque Populaire XI has a new daggerboard, and Sodebo Ultim 3 now carries a new pair of foils. Tom Laperche's SVR-Lazartigue fitted new foils and new rudders too, but a collision during a mid-September training session damaged the starboard appendages, forcing the team to refit the previous foil. "I'd rather have this bad luck before the Route du Rhum," Laperche said, adding it had "no impact on performance" and instead proved his team's ability to adapt quickly. He backed that up days later by winning the 24 Heures Ultim for the second year running, beating Le Cléac'h by just 11 minutes 29 seconds, with Marchand and Thomas Coville following.
Charles Caudrelier's Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, Gitana 18, remains the great unknown. Launched eight months ago, it has never raced against its rivals, though Caudrelier completed a solo qualifying sail in early September, a 48-hour return trip to the north of Ireland. "It remains a gamble and a big challenge, since nobody has managed to get a boat like this ready in so little time," he said. Last edition, which he won, he says he was the weak link. This time it is reversed: he has the experience, but the boat lacks the miles.
Ocean Fifty throws up genuine unpredictability, but Basile Bourgnon on Edenred looks the pick after winning the 24 Heures Ultim for the second year running and the Dhream Cup in July. He was leading the Transat Café L'Or with Emmanuel Le Roch before a steering failure dropped him down the order. Expect fireworks from the experienced Thibault Vauchel-Camus and a hungry new generation including Pierre Quiroga, Baptiste Hulin and Léonard Legrand.
In IMOCA, Sam Goodchild carries the favourite's tag after a strong run with Macif, though he was beaten into third at the Transat Café L'Or and second at the Vendée Arctique. "I'm proud to wear the favourite label but I also know it doesn't mean anything," he said. Ambrogio Beccaria, Francesca Clapcich and Élodie Bonafous are among the outsiders with boats already proven in recent racing, while Sébastien Simon and Boris Herrmann have been getting new boats up to speed. Also worth watching is Jérémie Beyou, racing his last event for Charal aboard a boat with a radically reworked bow.
Class40 looks set for a scrap between Corentin Douguet and Guillaume Pirouelle, who between them have swept most of the season's big results. Alexis Loison, Pep Costa and Fabien Delahaye are among those close behind.
The ORMA trimarans make a spectacular return in Vintage Multi, led by Francis Joyon, Damien Seguin, Éric Péron and Gilles Lamiré, all capable of finishing in under ten days.
Vintage Mono remains wide open. The fleet has been largely untested against each other this season, though Patrick Isoard is tipped as favourite on the strength of his 2024 win in The Transat CIC.
In total, 115 skippers will take on this edition of the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe.
