The ninth edition of the Route du Rhum, the fourth for the monohulls in the IMOCA class crowned Roland Jourdain, at the end of a very tiring and testing race. Four years after winning the title for the first time, the skipper of Veolia Environnement pulled off a historic second win. A victory that was all the more impressive when we look at the extremely competitive line-up that was so well prepared for this event. Before the start in St. Malo, everyone knew that the measures taken by the IMOCA class were likely to mean that boats from the older generation and the newer models would all be of a similar standard. The way the race developed confirmed this trend, as three boats from the last Vendée Globe took the first three places in the 2010 Rhum. Let us not forget that in a sprint, like the Route du Rhum, any strategic mistakes or technical problems are very costly. So, Roland Jourdain had to show off his ability to offer consistency throughout the race to be able to ward off the attacks of those chasing after him and keep the lead right up to the finish. This year’s Route du Rhum also showed the reliability of the boats taking part in what were after all very challenging conditions. Out of the nine lining up at the start, Kito de Pavant was the only competitor forced to retire suffering from keel problems.

A running-in period for the newer boats
Most people were expecting to see the newer boats up there at the front, whereas it was the older boats from the last Vendée Globe, which grabbed all the places on the podium. Roland Jourdain won the race aboard Veolia Environnement, Sébastien Josse’s former BT, a Farr-designed boat launched back in 2007. Armel Le Cléac’h and Marc Guillemot, on Brit Air and Safran, two other boats launched in 2007, took the remaining places. “The boat is in perfect shape and well prepared,” said Bilou after winning the event. A lack of time and preparation were probably what the three boats launched in 2010 lacked : Vincent Riou’s PRB, Jean-Pierre Dick’s Virbac-Paprec 3 and Michel Desjoyeaux’s Foncia. Everyone was looking forward to seeing how they would perform in this Route du Rhum in their first battle against each other, but they had to make do with prizes for being the runners up. Jean-Pierre Dick, the top ranked skipper in this trio, finished fourth not far from taking a place on the podium. Vincent Riou and Michel Desjoyeaux had to be satisfied with fifth and sixth place.