Thrilling competition at the 61st Genève-Rolle-Genève Race
by TF35 Trophy 7 Jun 21:39 BST
7 June 2025
61st Genève-Rolle-Genève Race © Loris Von Siebenthal
The 61st edition of the Genève-Rolle-Genève race delivered an exciting day of competition, with over 185 boats taking to the waters of Lake Geneva. On the morning of race day, the weather forecast was as unpredictable as ever. "Right now, the forecasts are complicated, and we're having a hard time getting anything clear. We hope one of the predictions is accurate and that there will be wind," said Hugues Puimatto, coach of Ylliam XII - Comptoir Immobilier.
At 1330, the Yacht Club de Genève signalled the start of the mass race, and Sails of Change 8, fresh off their two win's from day one of the TF35 Mies Grand Prix, quickly established themselves as the boat to beat in the TF35 fleet.
From the beginning, Sails of Change 8 took the lead, closely followed by Zen Too and Ylliam XII. As the fleet approached Port de Bellerive, Ylliam XII briefly took the lead, but Sails of Change 8 regained their position.
As Zen Too fell back, Ylliam 17 emerged as a strong contender, rounding the mark off Rolle in third place, just behind Ylliam XII. Meanwhile, X-Wing and Sails of Change 10 were engaged in a tight battle for fifth.
As the wind began to drop and the lake narrowed, the dynamics shifted, leading to significant position changes. The fleet split in search of pockets of wind, with Sails of Change 8 still holding the lead. The group to the west found their opportunity, allowing Ylliam 17 and Sails of Change 10 to move into second and third places, respectively, while Ylliam XII slipped to fourth.
Reflecting on their tactical decision, Alexis Rochat, bowman on Ylliam XII - Comptoir Immobilier, noted, "We had a great downwind leg. On the way back up, we made a tactical mistake—one move too many toward the Swiss side. We did catch some wind, but it wasn't coming from the right direction, and unfortunately, that was the end of it for us."
As the race neared the end, Sails of Change 8 and Ylliam 17 approached the finish line just off Bellevue. In a dramatic turn, Ylliam 17 were higher and faster, taking the lead and the win from Sails of Change 8 just moments before crossing the line. Sails of Change 10 made a strong comeback to finish in third, while Zen Too took fourth, X-Wing finished fifth, and Ylliam XII came in sixth.
"The start was a bit tricky. We were a little behind, a bit late on the moves, and quickly found ourselves at the back," explained Julien d'Ortoli, tactician for Sails of Change 10. "We tried to minimize the damage and not lose too much ground. As soon as the upwind leg began, we got onto the right tack immediately. The boat was performing well, we were happy with our speed, and the whole crew was fired up—even though we were still in sixth place at that point. We kept making smart calls: going to the right, then to the left, then back to the right—never taking big risks, just staying in the pressure we could see, without flipping a coin. Little by little, we climbed back, and it ended well for us. We gained three places—we couldn't have done better—so we're super happy with the outcome and to be on the podium."
"It meant a lot to us—especially since we'd been overtaken right at the line several times in the past two years. So winning like that felt like real redemption. And even more so with a substitute crew, since two of our sailors are at SailGP. It's just fantastic." - Julien Firmenich, Ylliam 17
Racing continues tomorrow with day two of the Mies Grand Prix, with the first warning signal scheduled for 11:30. Stay tuned for live race updates.
Race results available here.