FLASH FINISH. SVR-Lazartigue crossed the finish line of the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe this Sunday at 10:31:40 PM (local time), 3:31:40 AM (Paris time). Tom Laperche achieved an incredible feat, taking the lead at Cap Fréhel and maintaining it to the finish. He completed the race in 6 days, 13 hours, 27 minutes, and 40 seconds, thus setting a new record for the most prestigious ocean sprint. He is the third skipper under 30 to win the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe, after Laurent Bourgnon (28 years old in 1994) and Marc Pajot (29 years old in 1982). Tom Laperche improves upon the record set in 2022 by Charles Caudrelier (Gitana 17) by 6 hours, 19 minutes, and 45 seconds.
Tom Laperche, his victory in numbers:
Arrival time (in Pointe-à-Pitre): 10:31:40 PM
Arrival time (in Paris): 03:31:40
Race time: 6 days, 13 hours, 27 minutes, and 40 seconds.
Distance covered: 4,308.32 miles
Average speed (on the great circle route): 22.27 knots
Average speed (actual): 27.18 knots
The story of his race: SVR Lazartigue, a jubilant trajectory
Over the theoretical 3,542 miles of the course between Saint-Malo and Pointe-à-Pitre, Tom Laperche left no chance for his pursuers. Sailing a trimaran that has reached its peak and that he knows inside and out, he was fast in all conditions, agile in the transitions, and decisive and authoritative from the very start of the race. When confidence is combined with talent and hard work, the result is unstoppable. Bravo, maestro!
Portrait of the winner: Tom Laperche, the new prince of the oceans
It's an incredible rise. At 29, Tom Laperche (SVR-Lazartigue) has climbed to the top of offshore racing, and it seems almost inevitable. A grandfather who was a sailor, a father who is a dentist and has already competed in the Route du Rhum as an amateur, family friends named Bourgnon and Coville… Tom quickly developed a taste for the sea, even having the chance to sail at the age of 8 aboard Thomas Coville's ORMA. He approaches sailing with the same dedication he brings to school: "Tom has always been very diligent in everything he does," says his father, Philippe. Diligent and talented too, to the point of winning the Solitaire du Figaro in 2022 at the age of 25. The next chapter unfolds with SVR-Lazartigue, alongside François Gabart and then Franck Cammas, among others. There will be tough times (abandoning the ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE - Brest in 2024) and moments of intense joy, including this incredible Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe.