The two fastest trimarans on the planet are locked in a battle that could define the Transat Café L'OR 2025. SVR Lazartigue still holds the lead, but Sodebo Ultim 3 has sliced its deficit by more than half in a single day, punching through the Doldrums at over 30 knots and threading squalls with ruthless precision.
"We haven't been holding back since the start," co-skipper Benjamin Schwartz said during the morning check-in. "Every gybe is on the edge. You delay easing the mainsail because the moment you do, it's five minutes grinding to get it back."
The Intertropical Convergence Zone has proved considerably more forgiving than on the outward leg, allowing both trimarans to hold steady at 25 knots. By nightfall they will cross back into the northern hemisphere with fewer than 1 000 miles remaining to Fort-de-France. Actual Ultim 4 claimed the day's distance prize, logging 705 miles on a straight-line course, though all eyes are fixed on the two-boat scrap ahead, which looks set to resolve itself in a Thursday finish.
Ocean Fifty: heartbreak for Edenred 5
Racing multihulls this hard leaves almost no margin for error. Edenred 5, the red rocket that had led much of the leg, suffered a major failure overnight when her carbon spinnaker pole tore free and damaged the rudder link bar. "We cut it away and sleeved a repair using the seaweed pole," skipper Emmanuel Le Roch reported. "We're back on the J0, but gutted — that's racing."
Stripped of her big gennaker and the downwind power it provides, Edenred 5 conceded the lead immediately. Viabilis Océans, sailed by Baptiste Hulin and Thomas Rouxel, swept straight to the front, now running three knots faster and sitting 16 miles clear of Wewise with 1 000 miles left to race.
The turnaround for Viabilis Océans has been striking. An early pit-stop in the Channel looked like a race-ending setback, yet here they sit at the top of the fleet in under ten days. As today's race video put it, "Five boats can still win. The race is wide open."
IMOCA: precision at 25 knots
In the conditions now driving the fleet downwind, the IMOCAs are outpacing the Ocean Fiftys. Charal covered more than 600 miles in the past 24 hours, yet skipper Jérémie Beyou's lead over Macif Santé Prévoyance is a slender 30 miles, roughly an hour at current speeds.
"It's stressful but we're going fast, so we just hang on," Beyou told race control. Sailing with Morgan Lagravière, he is alternating two-hour watches, managing fatigue while refining every sail angle.
Team Snef–TeamWork has lost a little ground to suspected technical niggles. Further back, 11th Hour Racing, with Francesca Clapcich and Will Harris, and Allagrande Mapei, crewed by Ambrogio Beccaria and Thomas Ruyant, are both benefiting from the steadier trade winds. The top four boats are now compressed within 100 miles of each other, the shifting breezes north of the Cape Verdes bunching the fleet tight.
Kiwi Conrad Colman: steady under the trades
New Zealander Conrad Colman, sharing MSIG Europe with Mathieu Blanchard, has been quietly building his position. Over the past two days he has gained 120 nautical miles, holding pace with newer foiling designs despite campaigning a lighter, earlier-generation hull.
The pair have now touched the Alizés, the steady trade winds that will carry them towards Martinique. Colman's updates point to a methodical rhythm rather than outright speed, with the focus firmly on a strong finish and preserving the boat for the final push.
Class 40: two roads to Martinique
Positioned roughly halfway between Spain and the Azores, the Class 40 fleet hit its first significant front overnight and promptly split in two. A bold northern group chose the shorter, harder route into rougher weather, while a southern pack gambled on lighter downwind conditions.
"It's the choice between daring and self-preservation," one skipper observed in today's update. Leading the northern charge are Corentin Douguet and Axel Tréhin aboard SNSM Faites un Don, with Legallais and VSF Sports close behind. To the south, Seafrigo–Sogestran and Solano are banking on calmer seas.
The northerners endured 40-knot gusts and heavy lightning through the night, while those who went south sat comfortably in 12 to 15 knots. Tomorrow's weather will reveal which gamble pays off.
Final approach: tension builds
Approaching two weeks at sea, the Transat Café L'OR 2025 is narrowing to fine margins and frayed nerves across every class. The ULTIM leaders could be sighting Martinique within 48 hours, while the Ocean Fiftys and IMOCAs press on toward a likely Friday arrival. The Class 40s, battered but unbroken, face another week of ocean.
Every class carries its own drama: mechanical heartbreak, tactical genius, and raw endurance. For Conrad Colman, the sole New Zealander in the race, the story holds all three. From the cold of the Bay of Biscay to the warmth of the Caribbean trades, he is proving once again why New Zealand sailors are never far from the front of the pack.
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