Departing from New York on May 29, Nicolas Lunven arrived in Les Sables d’Olonne today after 13 days, 18 hours, and 20 minutes of racing. He finished 11th in this second edition of the solo New York – Vendée Les Sables Transat, which was won this weekend by Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance).

The skipper of Holcim-PRB was forced to reassess his ambitions as early as the third day of the race. After suffering another bout-dehors failure (Nicolas had already dealt with this type of issue in The Transat CIC), he managed his race like a seasoned sailor to avoid further damaging his IMOCA. Following the bout-dehors breakage, his goal became clearly to finish the race in Les Sables d’Olonne. This transat served as the final dress rehearsal at sea before the Vendée Globe in November, and the Breton couldn’t fully showcase his potential. In the initial days of racing, he was neck and neck with MACIF Santé Prévoyance, so Nicolas inevitably feels some regrets upon arrival for not being able to carry that battle through to Vendée. "After the bout-dehors breakage, it was a huge disappointment and a lot of confusion. It hit hard, especially since it's the second time. That's quite a lot. I had a low point, but I refocused. There was no question of stopping like that. I found myself with boats close by, so I motivated myself to sail cleanly. 11th isn’t the result I was hoping for, but I still learned a lot. I’ve gained a wealth of experience; it’s always enriching. And I had a lot of fun," explained Nicolas.

As a testament to this resilience, the skipper put on a show this afternoon in front of the vast beach of the Vendée Globe city, capping this transatlantic race in the best possible way. He crossed the finish line at 2:20 PM aboard a boat launched at full speed, soaring above the water. The spectacle was breathtaking and thrilled the entire technical team present to welcome Holcim-PRB. A few hours later, as he sailed up the famous channel of Les Sables d’Olonne around 6 PM, Nicolas was able to grasp what awaits him in a few months…

On November 10, the sun certainly won’t shine as brightly as it did today, but the fervent support of the thousands of people who will gather to cheer on the sailors embarking on their solo, non-stop, and unassisted round-the-world voyage will fill Nicolas and the 39 other competitors expected for the Vendée Globe 2024 with warmth. In the meantime, the technical team will take care of Holcim-PRB during a scheduled maintenance period set to last just over two months.