Solitaire du Figaro Paprec
At the 55th Solitaire du Figaro, which led from Rouen via Gijón and Royan to La Turballe, Tom Dolan rode to a historic victory on Smurfit Kappa – Kingspan. He was the first Irishman to win, ahead of Lois Berrehar on Macif 2022 and Gaston Morvan on Région Bretagne – CMB Performance. Anaëlle Pattusch, the only Swiss rider among the 37 participants, celebrated her debut.
The Solitaire du Figaro Paprec lived up to its reputation as the royal regatta of the French elite offshore sailing championship in every respect. It was intense, varied in terms of weather, stressful and sometimes merciless. It showed its cruel side particularly in the second leg, when it robbed all skippers who had chosen the wrong course in the first few hours of any chance of a decent placing. On the other hand, she gave others highs: Lois Berrehar, who won the first and last leg with his Macif 2022, the first-placed “Bizuth” Arno Biston on Tizh Mor and, of course, Tom Dolan, who was only the third foreigner to make it onto the winners’ list. The last time Laurent Bourgnon achieved this was in 1988. The “flying Irishman” can take some credit for his success. He had everything under control in both strong winds and calm conditions. At the finish he said, beaming: “I hadn’t set myself the goal of winning, but I had been dreaming of it for a long time. It takes years of work and many sacrifices. The competition is addictive because the level is extremely high and you are constantly sailing in contact with the other skippers. I want to take part again next year and enjoy it, even if I don’t win again.”
Anaëlle Pattusch fights her way through
Among the sixteen newcomers (“Bizuth”) was the only Swiss woman at the start. Anaëlle Pattusch from Versoix finished in 34th place in the final classification. Despite dropping out early in the third stage, she was able to gain valuable experience: “The race was incredibly intense, just the way I like it. The first stage took a lot out of me mentally. I lost my autopilot and was desperate. I just cried for 24 hours. I had put so much energy into this project. But then I realized that I had achieved something incredible and that I was lucky to be part of it. This thought will help me in the future. There will always be challenges, the important thing is how I deal with them. You have to be able to change your perspective to find solutions and give it your all.” The Geneva native can take even more positives from her debut: “For me, it really was a chance to compete with the best ocean sailors. Given the technical problems, I’m satisfied with my performance.” Anaëlle Pattusch’s findings will provide her with important pointers for setting her training priorities for the winter. Before that, she is looking for partners for her big goals for 2025: taking part in the Transat Paprec and the Solitaire du Figaro Paprec.