Almost two days have already passed since Holcim-PRB left New York, and the race is already in full swing! After spending the first hours fine-tuning the boat and executing maneuvers to escape the traps of very unstable winds, Nicolas Lunven had a fantastic night tactically and is sailing in the leading group. He held the top position in the rankings this morning and is currently in 3rd place this afternoon, but the gaps are minimal. Less than 6 miles separate him from Boris Hermann, who is currently leading the fleet.

Nicolas is fully in the game and is pleased to compete with the best boat/skipper pairs in the IMOCA class. The boats are sailing in sight of one another, and Nicolas sent an impressive photo yesterday where he is sailing side by side with the German skipper of Team Malizia. "The start of the race has been intense. The conditions were erratic with some crazy winds! I had to be on the sheets all the time and maneuver as well. Last night, I was able to rest and eat. This afternoon, I made myself a tartiflette. Everything is going well. To windward, I have Charal, and to leeward, I have MACIF. I'm quite happy with my start to the race; I'm really in the game. It’s great! However, in the first few hours, I wasn’t very inspired, but things fell into place. The first night, in very light winds, I made a good comeback. And yesterday, at the waypoint located 200 miles offshore, the wind was wild. It was choppy, as if we were moving into the lee of a mountain while being in the middle of nowhere! There were swings of 40 degrees at times. But I wasn’t unhappy with that. It allowed me to catch up and overtake quite a few boats to stay with the leading group. Paprec Arkea took a slightly different option. He’s behind, but I’m keeping an eye on that Yoann Richomme (laughs)," analyzes the skipper of Holcim-PRB.

All day and until tomorrow morning, the IMOCAs will enjoy pleasant sailing conditions with stable winds and a flat sea. It will be a speed race among the leaders before entering a dangerous transition zone that will force them to position themselves either south or north for the remainder of the race. For now, Holcim-PRB is heading east-northeast, and Nicolas will need to find the right trajectory to either go around or cross a trough, an area of low pressure where the wind will be very weak. The weather patterns are not aligned. The solo sailor has therefore spent part of the day at the chart table deciphering data and managing the best way to navigate this area, which is expected to be encountered by tomorrow noon. Behind him, he will be able to power up his machine thanks to a beneficial southeast flow. Winds of 30 to 35 knots are expected… enough to make quick progress on the reaching course towards Les Sables d’Olonne, at least for a while. However, the average speeds on this transatlantic crossing were not expected to reach record levels. A large anticyclonic ridge, whose position is quite unusual for this time of year, has settled in the heart of the North Atlantic and is expected to significantly slow down the fleet.