On Thursday morning in Paris, Sodebo announced its sponsoring schedule for the upcoming seasons. As well as the Tour de France à la Voile, skipper Coville will sail another single-handed record attempt round the world onboard his maxi-trimaran Sodebo and the Route du Rhum on board the former Géronimo of Olivier de Kersauson.
Last weekend, Coville and his men faced their future M34 competitors on the Spi Ouest France Intermarché. They already distinguished themselves by taking third behind the M34 veteran Daniel Souben, who won the race. Franck Cammas, another ‘rookie’ in this class, took second.
The competitive level, teamwork and performance on the TFV encouraged Coville to get onboard the M34. He is yet another great sailor to join the race, which aims for a new dynamism this year. “We clearly wanted to attract renowned names like Thomas Coville on the Tour de France à la Voile. We are very proud to welcome him this summer. When Franck Cammas joined us in December, a very good competitive level was already expected. Thomas Coville’s arrival is confirming this. It will be interesting to see how these experienced sailors will do in front of the veteran teams of the circuit. We are already thinking of the great show they will give to the public this summer,” said Jean-Etienne Amaury, Amaury Sport Organisation Chairman, the organisation of the Tour de France à la Voile.
Coville’s objective is clear: “We are entering the TFV to be on the podium!” he said. Col, Nélias, Pagès, Iehl, Richard – the names of the crew he chose, along with his right hand man Thierry Briend, speak for themselves.
Quotes:
Jean-Etienne Amaury, Amaury Sport Organisation Chairman:
“We clearly wanted to attract renowned names like Thomas Coville on the Tour de France à la Voile. We are very proud to welcome him this summer. When Franck Cammas joined us in December, a very good competitive level was already expected. Thomas Coville’s arrival is confirming this. It will be interesting to see how these experienced sailors will do in front of the veteran teams of the circuit. We are already thinking of the great show they will give to the public this summer.”
Thomas Coville, Sodebo 34 skipper:
“The level on the Tour de France à la Voile is one of the key reasons why we chose to take part in the race. We’ve seen it on the Spi Ouest France! Courrier Dunkerque, who has been sailing the TFV for several years now, was fighting for the first place with Groupama 34.
“The second reason behind our choice is the teamwork on the Tour de France à la Voile. It’s a shared adventure like the one I’ve lived with Groupama on the Volvo Ocean Race. My sponsor and I were looking for a project to bring us closer from the public. We will have 10 great sailors onboard, some match racing specialists like Damien Iehl, Mathieu Richard or Sébastien Col, three winners of the Volvo Ocean Race… We wanted a complementary team and a group with strong bonds. To go from offshore to inshore races, our team needed transferable skills too. We want this Tour de France à la Voile project to be a long term one. It should not be a one-time thing; Sodebo and I are not used to do things on the short term. I’m also glad to sail a One Design boat. It’s fantastic to race with the same machine!”
