Laperche takes six hours off the Route du Rhum record at his first attempt

Tom Laperche has won the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe at his first attempt, leading the 13th edition from the opening hour to the finish and taking more than six hours off the race record along the way.

The 29-year-old crossed the line off Pointe-à-Pitre at 22:31 local time on Saturday night, completing the course from Saint-Malo in 6 days, 13 hours, 27 minutes and 40 seconds aboard the Ultim trimaran SVR-Lazartigue. That beats the record Charles Caudrelier set in 2022 by 6 hours and 19 minutes.

“It’s the culmination of my entire life’s journey, ever since my childhood in La Trinité-sur-Mer,” Laperche said on arrival. “My dream was, first, to one day sail these boats – perhaps even solo – and, why not, to compete in the Route du Rhum.”

Laperche took the lead at Cap Fréhel, just 16 miles into the race, and never gave it up. But this was no procession. With no trade winds to speak of, the Ultims were pushed onto a more northerly route, and the week became a grind of transitions, sail changes and long, draining manoeuvres. Laperche sailed 4,308 miles in total, averaging just over 27 knots.

“No one ever wins the Route du Rhum by just coasting along,” he said. “With every gust, with every sail change, I was in complete fusion with the boat. I wanted this vessel to fly, to go as fast as it possibly could.”

He described being “in a state of grace”, a feeling he puts alongside only his 2022 Solitaire du Figaro and the start of the 2024 Arkéa Ultim Challenge.

The race’s defining moment came in the early hours of Wednesday, when Armel Le Cléac’h, running second, capsized Banque Populaire XI north-west of the Azores. Le Cléac’h was unhurt and was picked up by a cargo ship later that day – but the news hit hard aboard SVR-Lazartigue.

“When you find out about something like that while alone in the middle of the ocean, it’s an intense, chilling experience – it truly makes your blood run cold,” Laperche said. “These boats are exceptional, but we are constantly walking a fine line.”

With his closest rival gone, Laperche pushed on, and still had a significant tropical storm to deal with in the final day of racing.

He was quick to share the credit with his shore team – “I may have been alone at sea, but I can tell you that the team back on shore did an extraordinary job” – and with the mentors who brought him into the Ultim world. 2013 Vendée Globe winner François Gabart, he says, was convinced he could handle these boats long before Laperche believed it himself. Franck Cammas, his co-skipper for last year’s two-handed transatlantic win, was part of the routing team that guided him to Guadeloupe.

Laperche is now the youngest winner since the late Laurent Bourgnon took the first of his two titles at 28 in 1994, and only the twelfth different name on the trophy since 1978.

So what’s next? “Well, I haven’t won the Route du Rhum a second time yet,” he joked, before naming the big gap on his CV. “One thing I haven’t managed to do yet is complete a full circumnavigation of the globe in these types of boats. In our sport, that remains a major challenge.”

Thomas Coville brought Sodebo Ultim 3 home in second on Sunday afternoon, 15 hours and 12 minutes behind Laperche. At 58, this was his eighth consecutive Route du Rhum and his sixth podium – and it was hard earned.

Coville broke one foil early on, lost his big gennaker during a run of gybes through a narrow band of north-westerly breeze, then broke the second foil in the closing stages. He also collected a 45-minute penalty for a broken propeller-shaft seal dating back to the start. By midweek, with Le Cléac’h’s capsize weighing on him, he was describing a weather pattern in which “nothing is standard – everything is wild”.

Just 1 hour and 48 minutes later, Louis Burton crossed the line on Armand Thiery to complete a strong debut in the class. The Vendée Globe podium finisher only started sailing the ex-Macif trimaran this season and had targeted a top-five finish. Instead, he stayed with the leaders through every transition and closed to within 20 miles of Coville in the tropical depression.

With the Ultim podium settled, the race is far from over. The Ocean Fifties, IMOCAs, Class40s and Vintage fleets are still out on the Atlantic, with plenty to be decided over the coming days. Follow the fleet on the official tracker here.