France reveals stacked AC38 crew as K-Challenge becomes La Roche-Posay Racing Team

La Roche-Posay Racing Team

Benedict Donovan Deputy Editor

17th March 2026 5:46pm

The French challenger for the 38th America's Cup has a new name, a new title sponsor and a crew that reads like a greatest-hits compilation of Olympic and professional sailing.

K-Challenge will compete in Naples as La Roche-Posay Racing Team, backed by the L'Oréal-owned skincare brand. But the real headline is the lineup. We already knew Diego Botín and Florian Trittel were joining – now we know who else is on the boat.

Quentin Delapierre returns as skipper, the role he held through the 37th Cup cycle. Alongside him as drivers are Botín, the reigning 49er Olympic champion, and Enzo Balanger, the current International Moth world champion and a product of K-Challenge's own academy.

The trimming department is where things get interesting. Jason Saunders, Timothé Lapauw and Bruno Mourniac all return – and crucially, all three have spent plenty of time sailing together aboard France's F50 on the SailGP circuit. That kind of muscle memory matters when you're flying at 50 knots.

Leigh McMillan brings a different kind of pedigree. The British wing trimmer was part of Ineos Britannia's Louis Vuitton Cup–winning crew in Barcelona. Now switching allegiance to France, he’d already joined the French SailGP team at the start of Season 6. A shoulder injury from the Auckland collision has since sidelined him – he'll support the F50 squad strategically while he recovers – but he's confirmed to be in the America's Cup crew.

The offshore dimension comes through Amélie Grassi, who raced The Ocean Race and becomes the first confirmed female athlete in the squad. Managing extreme conditions at sea for days on end develops a different kind of composure – the kind that tends to show up when the stakes are highest.

Philippe Presti slots in as Sporting Director, a move that surprises nobody after his switch from Red Bull Italy to France SailGP Team at the start of Season 6. The former Luna Rossa coach will share responsibilities with Philippe Mourniac, and between them they'll oversee a demanding schedule: AC40 work immediately ahead of the Sardinia Preliminary Regatta in May, then a summer of AC75 training in Naples.

The crew Delapierre will lead is remarkable for its range. "When you look at this crew, you immediately see the richness and diversity of their backgrounds," the skipper said. "The tactical precision of Olympic classes, mastery of foiling boats, management of extreme situations, long-distance sailing – when you put all that together, it creates a very stimulating environment where everyone raises the bar."

Co-CEO Bruno Dubois sees the announcement as validation of a five-year plan that began before the 37th America's Cup was even sailed. "K-Challenge is a sustainable structure that didn't stop after the 37th Cup – we were able to retain our core team and attract others to join us," he said. That continuity shows. This is not a team being assembled from scratch, but one that's been building momentum.

So is this the most complete crew in AC38? It's early days, and every challenger will make similar claims. But look at the ingredients: two Olympic champions who've already proved they can win while juggling multiple campaigns, a core of trimmers battle-tested against each other every month on the F50 circuit, offshore steel, and a helm who knows the boat.

The Cup has a way of humbling even the best-laid plans. Still, if you were designing a squad to challenge for the oldest trophy in sport, it might look something like this.

La Roche-Posay Racing Team sailing crew: