Foto copyright Mark Lloyd
Foto copyright Mark Lloyd
Torben Grael, estuvo entre los tripulantes del equipo ganador
Fuente info Scuttlebutt europe
Pace Defends Tour Voile Title
After the best part of a month racing clockwise around the coast of France, so today Bertrand Pace's Sud de France/Languedoc-Roussillon has won the Tour de France a la Voile at the race's finish in La Seyne sur Mer, opposite Toulon. This came after the final two windward-leeward races had to be cancelled due to Mistral conditions bringing with it 30+ knot winds.
Pace's crew that included the late recruit of Volvo Ocean Race winner and multiple Olympic medallist Torben Grael, beat Daniel Souben's crew aboard Courrier Dunkerque by just seven points, while Safran-Multiplast skippered by Julien Villion won the amateur division.
This was Pace's second consecutive victory in the Tour Voile after he won last year aboard Nouvelle-Caledonie and, impressively, Pace eighth win in the race. But this year Pace's campaign was very different, taking delivery late of their M34 (the new yacht being used for the Tour Voile) and then having to learn the boat. Pace's progress gained steadily throughout the race and its unique mix of inshore and offshore racing, assisted by several stars from Sebastien Col, Laurent Pages and ultimately Torben Grael.
While Daniel Souben and his crew had to settle for second, just a few points away from victory, so double Solitaire du Figaro winner Nicolas Troussel and his Bretagne Credit Mutuel Elite crew, who finished third. "Our goal was to be on the podium," said Troussel. "So we succeeded!" This is Troussel's first particiption in the Tour Voile and unaccustomed to sailing with a crew Troussel has greater ambitions for 2012. - James Boyd in The Daily Sail
Overall results
1. Sud de France / Languedoc, Bertrand Pace, 119 points
2. Courrier Dunkerque, Daniel Souben, 126
3. Bretagne-Credit Mutuel Elite, Nicolas Trousse,l 160
4. Toulon Provence Mediterranee, Fabien Henry, 175
5. BAE Systems, Cedric Pouligny, 181
6. Nantes Saint Nazaire E. Leclerc, Corentin Douguet, 248
7. Safran - Multiplast, Julien Villion, 264
8. BRED - La Normandie, Benoit Charon, 278
9. Ile de France, Jimmy Pahun, 286
10. Cotes d'Armor Bretagne, Stephane Letertre, 293
11. Batistyl Ville de Pornic, Cyrille Le Gloahec, 331
12. Ile de La Reunion - Ville du Port Gabriel Jean-Albert, 408
13. Iskareen Soenke Bruhns, 455
14. Region de Bruxelles-Capitale - Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest Courbiere / Casaux / Ammeux / Michel, 455
15. Martinique-Centrale Paris-HEC Mathieu Moures, 467
www.thedailysail.com
Event site: www.tourvoile.fr
