They’re on the home stretch to the finish in the 52nd edition of the La Solitaire du Figaro, and there’s still virtually nothing in it as Pierre Quiroga and Skipper Macif 2019 cling to a small overall lead over Xavier Macaire and Groupe SNEF.
Having won the first three legs of this regatta between the two of them, the two skippers at the top of the leaderboard are currently both sailing in the top five in this final stage with some two hundred miles left to the finish in Saint Nazaire. With light winds from the north to northwest and a coastal jaunt to the finish that will be influenced by the Breton coast and large tide swings, there could still be some good passing lanes to be had.
Pierre Leboucher currently holds a small lead in this final stage with veteran Figaro sailors and class stalwarts holding onto nearly all the top spots, with just one rookie in the top 15. It’s again been a humbling race for the two American rookies in this regatta with Jesse Fielding and Francesca Clapcich sitting in 34th and 31st in this 34 boat fleet, respectively. Clapcich, a former Olympic Laser Radial sailor is having a solid final leg however, currently sailing in the top 20. Non-French sailors are still managing some solid results however with Irish sailor Tom Dolan currently sailing in 3rd place and Spanish rookie Pep Costa in 6th, following up English sailor Alan Roberts’ strong podium finish in Leg 3.
Should 29 year old sailor Pierre Quiroga hold on to win the overall, it would be his first overall victory in the Solitaire, with his top result previously being a 6th place finish in 2018. This is his sixth Figaro participation. For 40 year old Xavier Macaire, he is primed to finish on the overall podium for a third time in 11 participations.
Currently in third overall and still with a chance to win it is Francois Gabart’s new co-skipper Tom Laperche on Bretagne-CMB Performance. Having finished 3rd overall last year, the 24 year old continues to establish himself as a top up-and-coming talent in this ultra-competitive fleet. – Ronnie Simpson