Louis Burton already on his way to the 2020 Vendée Globe

Louis Burton announces his Vendée Globe 2020 campaign © Olivier BLANCHET / DPPI / Vendée Globe

Louis Burton, has just revealed some exciting news, announcing on Sunday at the Vendée Globe Village that he will be taking part in the 2020 race. Once again with the support of Bureau Vallée, the young skipper will be acquiring Armel Le Cléac'h's current Banque Populaire VIII.

With the Vendée Globe Village just opening its doors, Louis Burton is already thinking about his future. His loyal partner since 2010, Bureau Vallée has renewed their confidence in him for another four years and will be offering him a boat suiting his ambition in the 2020 solo round the world race: Armel Le Cléac'h's current Banque Populaire VIII, an IMOCA60 with foils launched in 2015. Discussions got underway in June, but the final agreement was signed last week in Paris.

Aiming for the podium

“If all goes well, next year, I'll be flying over the water with Bureau Vallée with the aim of making it to the podium and even winning races,” said a pleased Louis Burton. “For the time being, I'm focusing on the Vendée Globe, which is just coming up. Somewhere inside of me, I feel much calmer, now that I know that I can look forward to an exciting project next year. We decided to go for this boat from the outset. We fully trust the Banque Populaire team. I know that they will be helping us during the handover.”

Louis Burton will get his hands on the new boat at the finish of the 2016-2017 Vendée Globe. The boat will then go into the yard for a refit and should be ready by March 2017. The funding for this campaign will allow him to take part in most of the races in the circuit, including two Transat Jacques Vabre races (in 2017 and 2019), a Route du Rhum (in 2018) and, of course, the 2020 Vendée Globe as the climax of this campaign.