(January 9, 2017; Day 65) – As the solo non-stop round the world race enters its final 3,000 nautical miles, Vendée Globe leader Frenchman Armel Le Cléac’h’s Banque Populaire VIII is hunkering down for an epic battle in the North Atlantic with Alex Thomson’s Hugo Boss.
With less than 80 nm between them, Le Cléac’h’s 800+ nm lead over the Brit has all but vanished.
With the pair breaking free of the grasp of the Doldrums today, there remain plenty of variables which could effect the overall outcome of this eighth edition of the Vendée Globe. Ian Walker, reigning champion of the Volvo Ocean Race, sees an excellent race ahead.
“What we don’t know is what state both their boats are in – do they have all their sails still available, what damage do they have? It looks like Alex will be on starboard tack for most of the trip home and we saw earlier in the race he had excellent boat speed against the other competitors, but we don’t know how much Armel has been holding back.”
Following the tracker, it is clear that Le Cléac’h won’t get passed without a fight. He is shadowing Thomson’s course, but with the Brit posting one knot faster VMG in the past 24 hours, the Frenchman better get ready for battle.
Ranking (Top 5 of 29 as of 22:00 FR)
1. Banque Populaire VIII, Armel Le Cléac’h (FRA), 2729 nm to finish
2. Hugo Boss, Alex Thomson (GBR), 78.83 nm to leader
3. Maître CoQ, Jérémie Beyou (FRA), 568.17 nm
4. StMichel-Virbac, Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA), 1332.48 nm
5. Quéguiner – Leucémie Espoir, Yann Eliès (FRA), 1471 nm
Race details – Tracker – Ranking – Facebook – VendeeGlobe TVv
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