Tom Dolan holds the lead after La Solitaire du Figaro Leg 2
by Tom Dolan - Kingspan Sailing 29 May 14:18 BST
17 May 2026
Tom Dolan holds the lead after La Solitaire du Figaro Leg 2 © Vincent Olivaud / OC Sport Pen Duick
Tom Dolan delivered a remarkable Second Leg of the Solitaire du Figaro, mastering an unpredictable course that swung from total calm to 40-knot gusts. Despite the chaos that scattered the fleet, Dolan held his nerve, finishing fifth on the leg and protecting his overall lead by just 3 minutes and 38 seconds.
Sailing in close competition throughout with long-time rivals Nicolas Lunven (PRB) and Alexis Thomas (Wings of an Ocean), Dolan committed early to the left side of the course, a move that kept the trio tightly grouped for most of the leg. Lunven and Thomas now sit second and third on the overall leaderboard, directly behind the Irish skipper.
For spectators, the finish was a tense spectacle. The fleet repeatedly stalled and surged as the breeze collapsed and rebuilt just metres from the line, mirroring the unstable conditions Dolan had battled for five relentless days since departing Vigo. On paper it was the shortest leg, but in reality one of the most demanding of his career.
"Honestly, it's probably the hardest I've ever done. It was hell," Dolan remarked.
"On the second night, we spent hours under jib just watching the wind shift. As soon as it seemed to stabilise, I'd start a ten-minute timer thinking I might be able to eat or close my eyes. Nine times out of ten, I'd be up before it went off because the temperature had already swung twenty degrees one way or the other. You just had to accept the uncertainty and remain available at every moment."
Dolan's race hinged on an early strategic call to abandon the favoured inshore route along the Spanish coast. "I realised quickly it wasn't the right move," he explained. Instead, he pushed north into open water, where the weather files and observations consistently looked better. The decision kept him in the fight even as the fleet compressed and reshuffled repeatedly.
He concedes he lost time in the final miles. "I probably lost about twenty minutes in the final stretch coming into the finish, but if you told me a couple of years ago I'd be a couple of minutes ahead of Nicolas going into the final leg, I'd be a happy man." Even so, he still leads over a two-time Figaro champion and enters the finale as the man to beat.
Tom's attention now turns to recovery before the final 630-mile stage, heading north from Pornichet to Le Havre via the Gironde estuary. It promises to be another demanding leg of this immense challenge, with plenty of opportunities for dramatic swings in fortune.
Skippers return to the start line this Sunday at 19:00 (18:00 Irish time), giving competitors a vital window to recover before the decisive final leg.