Roland Jourdain had a huge smile on his face when he crossed the finishing line as the winner of the Route du Rhum. The skipper of Véolia Environnement completed the crossing in 13 days, 17 hours, 10 minutes and 56 seconds, at an average speed of 12.02 knots over a total distance of 3957 miles. Bilou, who was in the lead practically from the outset, achieves a historic second win after winning in 2006. Just under eight hours later, Armel Le Cléac'h took second place ahead of Marc Guillemot (Safran). As eloquent as ever, Roland Jourdain replied to questions with his usual humour and frankness...
What was the hardest part?
Roland Jourdain: "It is always said that the hardest race is the one you have just finished. It’s true that this one was tough, but I managed to keep up with what was happening. It all went smoothly throughout. Maybe I was just lucky."
The finish in Guadeloupe?
RJ: "It’s true that this time I didn’t have a Jean Le Cam behind me. I can’t say I missed him! The comfortable lead I had acquired over Armel and the others enabled me to enjoy the excitement of the final part of the race. The final stretch around the island enabled me to tell myself that I had the greatest job in the world and when things go well, it’s fabulous."
At one with the boat?
RJ: "I think we understood each other. We kept under each other under control. I knew she was a good boat, but I knew too that the competition was tough, as all the others have great boats too. I got off to a bad start, because I had a problem with my spinnaker sock. I set off after the fleet and in the evening I was with Mich (Desjoyeaux) and Jean-Pierre (Dick). We fought hard off Ushant. I found it quite easy and managed to progress nicely. That’s when I said “You’re going to get on like a house on fire”. It felt really good and I was at ease aboard the boat.”
How does the sailor feel at the finish?
RJ: "I said to my son at the finish that there are things I’ll never understand. How do we manage to do things racing that we’d never manage to do when training, such as hoisting the gennaker, stacking during a change of tack... I gave it my all! It’s true that at the age of 45, you need to be able to react differently. You really need to know what you’re doing on these machines to sail quickly."
And your win?
RJ: "We take risks and sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. I’d never won with my sponsor and so this was an important victory for me! It’s a bit like putting the icing on the cake. I didn’t have any pressure on me apart from what I was forcing myself to do as a competitor. In St-Malo, I couldn’t say it, but I thought I was going to win, because it just had to be like that, because we have other projects we’re working on now. I hadn’t won anything for four years and I needed this one to be able to embark on a new chapter."
Two wins in a row?
RJ: "Winning twice is an extra bonus. In our sport, we don’t have matches every Saturday night. We have one big event a year, so our careers are fragile. If you look at the numbers, the statistics, as people do in other sports, there was damage, people were forced to retire... I just had to win. I really feel like I worked hard and that we all worked hard in fact, as the boat was in perfect shape and really well prepared. It’s a collective effort and it felt great taking her to first place."
