Foncia Wins the 71st Edition of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud

Foncia wins the Bol d'Or Mirabaud after more than 19 hours of racing; Taillevent II is the first monohull after 25 hours of racing.


Foncia wins the Bol d'Or Mirabaud 2009. Image copyright Loris von Siebenthal/MyImage.

by Christophe Lamps (in translation)

The team of Alain Gautier and Michel Desjoyeaux crossed the finish line at 5h33 Sunday morning, followed by five other Decisions 35s; Smart Home, okalys-corum, Zen Too, Julius Baer and Banque Populaire as well as by the first M2s Genolier, Teamwork and Rhône Management.

So in the early morning, on a motionless lake, the first arrivals of this 71st edition of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud presented by Girard-Perregaux, one of the longer ones of recent history, appeared.

The race came undone for some during the last instants: Foncia just crossed the finishing line, with an advance of a minute and ten seconds on Smart Home. All day long on Saturday, the Decision 35 had remained lightly in contention, without separating themselves.


The D35 Smarthome, during the Bol d'Or Mirabaud 2090. Image copyright Loris von Siebenthal/MyImage.

For his fourth participation in the Bol d'Or Mirabaud, the famous skipper had chosen as tactician another navigator for solitary racing, Michel Desjoyeaux, big conqueror of the Vendée Globe 2008-2009 and participating in his second Bol d'Or Mirabaud. To these two, belong the most beautiful lists of awards of world-wide sailing: four victories of the Solitaire, one Figaro, three Vendée Globe, the Route du Rhum, the Challenge Jacques Vabre.


The D35 Okalys-Corum at the Bouveret turning mark. Image copyright Loris von Siebenthal/MyImage.

This weekend, on board the D35 Foncia, Alain Gautier and Michel Desjoyeaux add a new line to these prestigious titles. For the Breton skipper, "THIS IS a special victory! The Bol d'Or Mirabaud is an unbelievable race, in terms of spectacle on water, of intensity and of density." The crew of Foncia was composed of Alain Gautier, Michel Desjoyeaux, Jérôme Teillet, Jacques Guichard and Christophe Lassegue.


Start of the 71st edition of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud. Image copyright Loris von Siebenthal/MyImage.

The victory of these two oceanic stars confirms that the champion sailors take part more and more gladly in the Bol d'Or Mirabaud; the party of the Léman.

Bol d'Or Mirabaud