This morning, Armel Le Cléac'h won the first leg of the Solitaire 2010 between Le Havre and Gijón, at precisely 01:14:32, after 3 days, 11 hours, 14 minutes and 32 seconds at sea. Once again, the "Jackal" has earned his nickname, having defended his leading position from the tip of Brittany, while behind him the pack was hot on his heels.

Yann Eliès and Eric Péron kept him company on the podium. This trio succeeded in widening the gap towards the end of the race. The fleet was then grouped on the finishing line and no less than 27 boats arrived within two hours! On board Groupe Bel, Kito did not show himself unworthy, giving it a bash repeatedly and with great effort despite his lack of Figaro single-handed training these last few years. He finished in 21st position at precisely 02:44:03, which is just under an hour behind the winner. Therefore, he finished with the majority of the fleet, meaning that he can still trust his luck in the next three legs.

First reactions in the middle of the night at Gijón, a few minutes after tying up his Groupe Bel Figaro: "Yes, it was difficult. I tried quite a few things and few of them worked out the way I had intended, but this first leg has reassured me that I'm still capable. This is my training leg and we will be attacking more serious stuff in three day's time. We suffered a lot on the first two days in the Channel. There was a lot of work to do on the boat. The seaweed spoiled the pleasure of racing, because you really have to check the appendages every five minutes, and every time one or several of them are stuck. The Bay of Biscay gave us a breath of fresh air and we could enjoy the sun, as well as animals like dolphins and the beautiful light, particularly today. It is inevitably physically more difficult at the age of 50 than it is at 30. I suffered a little, but it's not over yet. In fact, I was looking for regatta racing in close contact with the other contenders. I missed it. It was a real question mark from that point of view and my mind is now at rest. It has been a success."

Julia Huvé

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Last Updated ( Saturday, 31 July 2010 )