La Solitaire Bompard Le Figaro - Leg 3 Finish

A two-way fight between Skipper Macif duo to win La Solitaire as Dalin 'wins' Stage 3

Skipper Macif team duo Yoann Richomme and Charlie Dalin will go into the 130-nautical mile final Stage 4 of the Solitaire Bompard Le Figaro knowing that their closest rival for the four-stage solo offshore championship is each other.

Post finish-line Dalin on Skipper Macif 2015 was credited as the winner of Stage 3 following an eight-minute penalty imposed on Xavier Macaire, who reached La Rochelle on Chemins d'Oceans in first place at midday this afternoon. After inspection by the judges it was discovered that the lead seals on Macaire's fire extinguisher attachment were broken and he was penalised two minutes for every hundred miles of the course, as per the race rules statutory penalties. This dropped Macaire to third place on the leg.

"It is a penalty applied systematically," commented George Priol, president of the International Jury.

Finishing sixth into La Rochelle, Richomme on Skipper Macif 2014 lost 16 minutes and 22 seconds of the lead he had held over Dalin at the start of the 395-mile Stage 3 which started from Paimpol on Sunday evening.

Now Richomme will start Wednesday evening's showdown, the 24-hour, 130-mile circuit northwest to the Isle de Yeu and back to La Rochelle, with a margin trimmed by his teammate to 14 minutes and eight seconds.

Richomme's next nearest challenger is the 2009 overall winner of the Solitaire, Nico Lunven on Generali, who is one hour 13 minutes and 32 seconds behind in the General Classification.

Stage 3 was defined by a high pressure ridge which blocked the fleet's passage across the north of the Bay of Biscay. In the unsettled, very light and unpredictable breezes – considered atypical by many of the skippers well-versed in reading all the signs of such anticyclonic transition zones – there were big losses and gains, a painful slow motion rollercoaster of fortunes.

Richomme had looked secure going into the high pressure area yesterday afternoon – predicting a first-in, first-out type of compression – but he lost miles to the chasing pack. Even so he still led at the BXA mark at 0339hours by two minutes and six seconds with 40 miles to sail.

But then Richomme was outflanked on the windward leg and kite reach to the line and lost his hard-earned margin to his rival Dalin who has been the most consistent finisher so far, placing third into both Cowes and Paimpol.

"This Solitaire is incredible!" Richomme commented on the dock in La Rochelle's Vieux Port. "It's been so tough. The third leg was every bit as hard as the first two. We didn't have any time to get any rest, as the wind was so variable, and we're kept busy trimming.

"I'm pleased with what I have done," he added. "I'm still able to lead the fleet and to be leader after 36 hours of racing. I attempted an option this morning, as I was convinced I would be the first to pick up the wind, but unfortunately it didn't pay off. That's my way of sailing. It's what I did in the first two legs. I can't wait for Thursday evening to see the result. Now, I need to get some rest and it's going to be hard to be ready for tomorrow. There's not much time to recuperate and even if it is the same for us all, we know it's going to be tricky."

Stage 3 winner Dalin, second overall in 2015 and third in 2014, commented: "The key point is you must never be discouraged. Anything can happen and there can always be chances, and you have to be ready to grab them. There have been so many times when I could have told myself during the Solitaire that it was over and that I would end up 40 or 50 minutes behind at the start of the fourth leg. But I kept my spirits up and remained determined and the opening appeared. I was lucky and managed to grab that opportunity.

"This was another very tiring leg," he added. "There was plenty to play for between BXA and Oléron. I saw my chance and got ahead of Yoann. There were stretches under spinnaker, which were fast. I took advantage to get a lot of sleep. I know I lost some ground at that point, but I wanted to get some 15-minute naps to be on form for the end of the race. In the end, I got back 16 minutes from Yoann, so that was a job well done. As for my strategy tomorrow, it will depend on the weather, but I don't think I'll change the way I sail."

Briton Will Harris of the Artemis Offshore Academy holds on to his lead in the race to be top Rookie on Artemis 77. He will start the final leg of his first Solitaire with a lead of 11 minutes and 14 seconds over French newcomer Pierre Quiroga on Skipper Espoir CEM, who sails for the CEM – the La Grande Motte training centre that produced Macaire.

"The competition with Pierre is really intense but I have realised that I can't just focus on what he is doing in a race like this. It would be too hard to spend the whole leg covering him," commented Harris.

Alan Roberts on Alan Roberts Racing is the best-placed British solo sailor in the championship ranking, in 16th overall.

With the final leg starting at 1900hrs Wednesday evening, most of the 39 skippers are intent on keeping in race mode, looking upon the 30 or so hours in port as a chance to bank some precious sleep and prepare for the decisive finale.

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