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La Solitaire du Figaro 2008: Three stages and even more miles
La Solitaire du Figaro 2008 returns to the original format: the 39th edition of the race, like the original Course de l’Aurore, it will be made up of three stages, one less yet with even more miles and a new host stop over port. There will be record 1,880 miles to cover over the course of the race between France and Spain and through the Irish and Celtic Seas.
Just a year away from the 40th edition of the race, the sporting and human adventure of La Solitaire du Figaro looks forward to many further editions of the race in the years to come.
La Rochelle will play host to the fleet for La Solitaire from the 19th to 25th of July and will start the 39th edition of the race. This will be the 7th time La Rochelle hosts the event. The excellent facilities the basin can offer together with the professional nature of all nautical events hosted here, has resulted in the race organisers returning.
18 years later…Back to Vigo
On the 25th of July the race will set off from La Rochelle and head for Vigo in Spain. The 465 mile leg is a classic Figaro course that will see the fleet cross the Bay of Biscay, round Cape Finisterre - which will no doubt throw up some surprises, and the Cies Isles, the final course mark before the finish in Vigo. The Spanish stopover is always both eagerly awaited and appreciated by the competitors. Vigo hosts the race stop for the third time as the event returns after 18 years.
The run north to Normandy…
On the 31st of July it will be time to leave for Cherbourg-Octeville, 590 miles of racing punctuated with strategic passage points: Cape Finisterre again, the Raz de Sein, the Channel Isles and finally the unpredictable Raz de Blanchard. The pace will be fast on this leg and there will be some key passage points that will require careful handling. The southern Norman town, that hosted the 2006 start, will welcome and play host to the fleet.
A legendary new stage…
Finally, on the 8th of August, the fleet will head off on the 825-mile marathon leg to the port of L’Aber Wrac’h. The longest leg in the history of La Solitaire (the 762 miles on the last edition of the race were shortened due to the weather conditions) will make up two legs as for the 39th edition of the race there will be no Irish stop-over. The competitors will however be spending quite some time in these seas as for the first time, they will head round the Isle of Man, situated North East of Dublin. It will be the first time the race heads up to such Northern latitudes. What is going to be tough is knowing how to handle 6 days single handed racing, if you consider that the fleet, for the most part, averages some 6 knots; 825 miles that will push them to the limit and bring them to Brittany. The new port of L’Aber Wrac’h, inaugurated in 2007, will welcome La Solitaire du Figaro for the very first time.
“Working around 3 legs as opposed to 4 for the 2008 edition of the race gives the competitors an 825-mile leg, the longest in the history of La Solitaire. Whether it be the short coastal sprint or a long offshore marathon, all will have a chance to excel over the various stages of this race”, explains Jacques Caraës
