One Month of the 10th Edition of the Vendée Globe
At one month since the start of the race, the Vendée Globe is fully underlining its sporting and media success. Between the record number of visitors to the start village, historic audiences and unprecedented sporting performances so far, this 10th edition is already making a big impression.
On the water, the 2024 Vendée Globe offers a thrilling battle at all levels of the fleet. While the race leader is already sailing in the Indian Ocean, the last competitors have only just left the South Atlantic, with a gap of more than 5,000 miles between them. Each sailor nevertheless fought fiercely. French skipper Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) made his mark by setting an impressive record in the South Atlantic: 615.33 miles covered in one day, at an average speed of 25.64 knots. The skipper from the Vendée region has unfortunately just suffered foil damage in the Indian Ocean.
Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance), for his part, broke the record for the section between the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin (setting a new reference time: 9d 22h 27min), confirming his status as a formidable leader. But the history of the Vendée Globe shows that nothing is ever won in advance, it’s a long-distance race during which anything can happen!
Despite a frantic pace, only two retirements have happened, forced to leave the record sized fleet of 40 starters, those being Maxime Sorel (VandB – Monbana – Mayenne) and Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée), highlighting the progress made in terms of boat reliability and the effectiveness of the reinforced qualification programme.
By way of comparison, in 2020 after a month of racing, 5 retirements were to be deplored out of 33 boats. In 2016, 5 retirements out of 29 boats, in 2012, 7 retirements out of 20 boats.
Edition after edition, the Vendée Globe consolidates its status as an unmissable event and reinforces its appeal to the general public. The spontaneous awareness of the race now stands at 46%, a notable increase of +7 points compared to 2020. This popularity is accompanied by an increasingly positive image: 70% of French people say they have a favourable opinion of the event, a gain of +6 points. These figures confirm the unique ability of the Vendée Globe to unite and inspire thanks to its mix of sporting feats and human adventures.
