Sébastien Simon completes the podium in the Vendée Globe and aims for 2028
by Ed Gorman / IMOCA Globe Series 17 Jan 2025 17:31 GMT
17 January 2025
Sébastien Simon (FRA) is photographed after taking 3rd place in the Vendée Globe, on January 17, in Les Sables d'Olonne, France © Jean-Marie Liot / Alea
The podium in the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe solo round-the-world race was completed in the early hours of today, when the French sailor Sébastien Simon returned to his home port of Les Sables d'Olonne.
The 34-year-old skipper of Groupe Dubreuil, who describes himself as a "child of the Vendée Globe," having grown up dreaming of taking part in the race, was ecstatic to finish the course and do so on the podium.
Four years ago his first attempt ended off South Africa when his boat hit an object in the water. But this time, despite losing his starboard foil south of Australia, the brilliant former Figaro winner went the whole distance and did so at a competitive and impressive pace.
Simon crossed the finish line just after midnight after 67 days, 12 hours and 25 minutes at sea, having sailed 27,807 nautical miles at a remarkable average speed of 17.16 knots. He completed the course two days, 17 hours and two minutes behind race winner Charlie Dalin onboard Macif Santé Prévoyance.
After longing for the finish in the final stages - when light airs and plenty of commercial traffic kept the exhausted Simon on his toes - the emotions were powerful for a young man whose build-up to the race saw him suffer serious head and back injuries during the Retour à la Base transatlantic race in December 2023.
"It was an amazing welcome," he said on the dockside, after travelling up the channel at Les Sables d'Olonne, where thousands of locals turned out to welcome their hero. "I could never have imagined anything like it. I received an extraordinary reception this morning in freezing cold weather. I've never been this cold throughout the entire Vendée Globe.
"It's incredible," he added. "I will cherish unforgettable memories of this moment, and I'm already looking forward to being back in four years to experience these emotions again. I don't know if you can feel this anywhere else."
This podium for Simon is all the more remarkable when you consider that he only launched his campaign for this race in July 2023. Needing a sponsor and without a boat, he was picked up out of the blue by Paul-Henri Dubreuil, owner of the Vendée-based Groupe Dubreuil.
Simon then built a team around him, after acquiring the battle-hardened Guillaume Verdier design that won the last Ocean Race - the former 11th Hour Racing Team-Mãlama - which proved an excellent move. And, despite the injuries he suffered in the Retour à la Base, he has gone on to achieve a competitive level of performance against rivals who had far longer to prepare.
A confident and tactically astute sailor, Simon reflected on the loss of his starboard foil south of Australia, which put paid to any dreams he had of winning. It was a setback which meant it was always going to be a struggle for him to hang onto Dalin and Yoann Richomme, who finished second on Paprec Arkéa, despite sailing a superb Southern Ocean leg as a key player in the top-three.
"Humans have the ability to forget all the tough moments, and there were some, particularly when the foil broke, which almost made me lose hope at one point. But giving up isn't really my style, as some people know. I fought until the very end," he said.
The idea of coming back and doing the race again was present in much of what Simon said and there is no doubt that he is already viewing this podium finish as a building block to something even better next time round. And he is clearly hoping that Groupe Dubreuil will continue the journey they began with him when they signed a sponsorship deal to mark the company's centenary.
Simon said a podium finish, and even leading the race for 10 days, were way beyond his initial objectives which were simply to finish. "It was fabulous, an extraordinary experience and it makes me want only one thing: to come back in four years. Paul-Henri told me he wanted to follow me and that's a great sign of trust. I can only thank him and his entire family."
The sailor who was born in La Roche-sur-Yon, just outside Les Sables d'Olonne, just a few months after the first Vendée Globe set sail in 1989, used a lovely rugby metaphor to thank his shore team for the way they had prepared his boat so perfectly.
"This third place, I want to dedicate it to all those who were there - all the collaborators at Groupe Dubreuil, my family, my friends and my team who worked tirelessly to prepare this boat," he said. "I often say they scored the try and I just converted it."
And Simon - like Richomme before him - paid tribute to Dalin. "When I saw Charlie arrive," he said, "I had an emotional moment because I'm a competitor above all else. I do this for the sport, for the passion, and when I saw Charlie's arrival, I was happy for him. He deserves it. I've known him since I started competing in the Figaro and I have a lot of respect for him. I managed to beat him in the Figaro in 2018, but in IMOCA there's no contest. It's no coincidence that he's in the lead and wins.
"I hope he comes back in four years and that we can compete on equal terms," added Simon.
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