To understand just how important this event is, you just have to look at the list of winners in the Vendée Globe: Michel Desjoyeaux, twice winner of the round the world race has indeed won the Solitaire on three occasions. Jean Le Cam’s nickname King Jean is down to his three wins in the classic event of the summer (and ten legs, the outright record). Alain Gautier has won both - the Solitaire in 1989, the Vendée in 1993. Like Desjoyeaux and Le Cam, Philippe Poupon, 3rd in the Vendée Globe in 1993, has also achieved three wins in the Solitaire in 1982, 1985 and 1995… Several other have come close to doing the double, like Armel Le Cléac’h, runner up in the last Vendée Globe and winner of the 2004 Solitaire.

If Michel Desjoyeaux likes to say that you should get through the Solitaire before doing anything else (meaning that you need to do this before thinking of the Vendée), it is for good reason. Consequently many Figaro racers dream of doing the round the world race aboard a 60-foot boat… but at the same time,many round the world sailors believe that the Solitaire, known to be one of the toughest races in the world, is the best way to prepare for the race around the planet. That is the case even if in reality everyone races the Solitaire on the same type of boat. Any difference is down to the men, who need to give it their all during the legs lasting three or four days and sleep makes all the difference.

Le Cléac’h, de Pavant…

Out of the seven Vendée Globe sailors, who are lining up this year to take part, none have yet won the round the world race. But they each have had their own recent successes. Five of them can be included in the list of favourites. While it is Armel Le Cléac’h, who has been closest to a win in both events, Sébastien Josse, Jérémie Beyou, Yann Eliès, Kito de Pavant, Bernard Stamm and Jonny Malbon have all sailed around the world. Time for a quick look…

Armel Le Cléac’h and Kito de Pavant have already both won the Solitaire du Figaro - Kito in 2003 and Armel in the following year – and they both have faithful partners backing them, Groupe Bel and Brit’Air, which means they should be able to continue racing in the IMOCA events right up to the next Vendée Globe. They do not have anything left to prove and for good reason they are up there with the favourites. On top of that they are in good shape: Armel Le Cléac’h won the Transat Ag2r for the second time in May and Kito de Pavant took second place in the Transat Jacques Vabre. In these two events, both were accompanied by talented young Figaro racers: Fabien Delahaye and François Gabart respectively. Finding yourself on top, even in a double handed event is always a great boost to the confidence of the single-handed sailor.

Beyou, Eliès, Josse…

Jérémie Beyou, winner of the Solitaire in 2005 and winner of two out of four legs last year, is also among the favourites. Just like Yann Eliès, and we have every reason to be surprised that he has not yet won the summer classic, has five leg wins under his belt and has been on the podium twice. So maybe it will happen this year, so he can forget his disappointment from last year, when he came so close (2nd in Dieppe, just missing out).

Sébastien Josse, 2nd in the 2000 Solitaire and fifth in the 2005 Vendée Globe, is back again. These three, Jérémie, Yann and Jojo, were all unlucky in the last Vendée Globe, as they were unable to make it to the finish. And they also have in common the fact that they are looking for partners for the next round the world race. They will therefore all be equally determined to show what they can do, as any great success in this major classic is an additional argument to convince a potential sponsor to sign them up for a 60-foot programme. We must not forget either that Jérémie Beyou and Yann Eliès would like to put behind them their relative disappointments in the last Transat Ag2r when they raced together in a Figaro (19th). We should not really compare this double-handed transatlantic race: last year for the fortieth edition of the Solitaire, Jérémie and Yann between them won three of the four legs: Eliès winner in La Coruna (Spain), Beyou winner in Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie and in Dingle (Ireland).

Stamm and Malbon

For the Swiss sailor Bernard Stamm and the English entrant Jonny Malbon, things are different: unlike the aforementioned five, they are not among the favourites in the Solitaire and they know that full well. Bernard Stamm – twice winner of Around Alone, but also one of the unlucky ones in the Vendée Globe – will be the only one of the seven newcomers taking part. “I’m not too worried about the result. I’m in it to learn how to sail the boat,” he freely admits. For him, the Solitaire is just the next step in his race programme, while his new highly anticipated 60-foot boat is being built at the Décision yard in Switzerland based on designs by Juan Kouyoumdjian. Meanwhile, Bernard Stamm is sailing on the Figaro Bénéteau ten-metre one design boat (then in Class 40 in the next Route du Rhum). He is therefore considered at best to be an outsider, as this race is rarely won by someone lacking experience in this type of boat, as can be seen from the results obtained by Jean Le Cam, Alain Gautier and Jérémie Beyou. All three had a certain number of races behind them before they won the event: 11 times in the case of Jean Le Cam, 10 for Alain Gautier, 9 for Jérémie Beyou. That gives us a good idea of just what it takes: you need to be the best.

For Cowes based Jonny Malbon – skipper of Artemis, who also failed to complete the last Vendée Globe – this will be his second appearance in the Solitaire, in which he finished near the bottom back in 2009 (45th). In the elite world of the Solitaire, everyone remembers the enthusiasm and energy of the English sailor, who came along to sail with the best of the French solo sailors. This time Jonny will be looking to improve on his knowledge.