British sailor Alex Thomson Racing ready to make sporting history
by Alex Thomson Racing 3 Nov 2016 17:33 GMT
6 November 2016
This Sunday, British sailor Alex Thomson, will begin his bid to become the first British sailor ever to win one of the toughest sporting challenges on the planet, The Vendée Globe.
A gruelling single-handed, non-stop, unassisted race around the world – often termed 'the Everest of Sailing' – the Vendée Globe sees sailors pushed to their very limits in the quest for victory. This year, 29 skippers will depart from the start line on Sunday, November 6 in Les Sables d'Olonne, France.
British skipper Thomson has now arrived at the race village in Les Sables d'Olonne and, together with his extended team, is making final preparations before setting off, averaging 26,000 nautical miles in his round-the-world journey alone.
After finishing in third place in the 2012-2013 Vendée Globe, and breaking a British record along the way, Thomson will this year seek to make history and become the first British sailor ever to win the iconic race.
Thomson will do so on-board his new £4.5m IMOCA 60 race boat, HUGO BOSS - a yacht which, after more than two years in the making, was unveiled at the end of 2015.
Thomson said: "If I can win this race it will be a huge moment in British sport. It's been a long journey to get here, but we're more ready than we will ever be. My motto for this race is simple: sail, survive and succeed and that's what I aim to do."
www.vendeeglobe.org/en