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Steady Sled eases ahead
A third and a second in two difficult offshore-breeze races extended the American entry's advantage to nine points at the midpoint of a record-sized Puerto Portals regatta.
Sailing his IMOCA to victory in a jaw-dropping 64 days, 19 hours, and 22 minutes, Dalin smashed the previous race record by more than nine days. That’s not evolution—that’s revolution. Hot on his heels was Yoann Richomme – a highly experienced ocean racer, yet a VG rookie – who refused to blink throughout he and Dalin's relentless open-ocean match race, and who finished just 22 hours behind in second place
And then there was Sébastien Simon, who rewrote the 24-hour speed record with a gut-busting 615.33 nautical miles single burst before limping the rest of the way to the podium with a destroyed foil. Grit and determination? You bet.
This wasn’t just a race of speed—it was a race of resilience. With 80% of starters finishing, the lowest retirement rate in the race’s history, it’s clear the new qualification system and tech advances have worked. No flukes here—just well-prepped sailors, solid boats, and a ferocious commitment to finishing what they started.
On land, the numbers were equally jaw-dropping: 2.45 million people descended on Les Sables, with 1.3 million in the start village alone. That’s not a race crowd—that’s a akin to a cult following. At the finish? 800,000 people welcomed home the skippers, from the winner to the final boat.
22 million French TV viewers tuned in for the start. And when Charlie crossed the line, a staggering 76% of the national TV audience was watching. The Vendée Globe isn’t just sailing’s Super Bowl—it’s a national obsession with global reach.
The Vendée Globe didn’t just dominate TV—it owned the internet, with 160 million website visits (+37% vs 2020), 9.2 billion social impressions, 31 million engagements, 1.6 million followers, 55% more than last edition. TikTok lit up too, with 40 million video views and a big swing toward a younger, more female audience—finally proving that sailing isn’t just a sport for weathered men in Musto jackets anymore.
The fleet itself reflected the race’s international appeal: 14 skippers from around the world, including the first-ever Chinese entrant. No suprise then that a massive 36% of web traffic came from outside France. On social media too the majority of chatter came from beyond French borders—a clear sign that the Vendée Globe is no longer a niche curiosity, but now a world-renowned international epic.
In a race that lives on the knife-edge between human endurance and technical mastery, it was the emotion that won the day. From the joy of the finishers to the heartbreak of those forced to retire, every moment was a reminder that this race isn’t just about sailing—it’s about what it means to push yourself to the absolute limit.
Throw in a record-breaking crowd, viral social content, a mascot penguin named Adélie, and a junior programme introducing 1.3 million kids to offshore sailing, and you’ve got something more than a sporting event. You’ve got a movement.
As Alain Leboeuf, President of the Vendée Globe, put it: “This edition testifies to the deep roots of the race in the Vendée, but also to its extraordinary global reach.”
And he’s not wrong. However, what will be interesting now is how well the IMOCA class can capitalise on all this positivity to bring the Vendée Globe fan faithful with them for the 2025 IMOCA Globe Series of ocean races.
That series kicks off in June with a new event, the Course des Caps - Boulogne-sur-Mer - Banque Populaire du Nord race, which will see a fleet of 10 or more four-person crews set off from Boulogne-sur-Mer on a 2,000-mile lap of the British Isles. Other events in the series include the Rolex Fastnet Race in July, The Ocean Race Europe in August, the Défi Azimut-Lorient Agglomération in September, and the Transat Cafe L'Or (formerly the Transat Jacques Vabre) starting at the end of October.
So plenty for offshore racing fans to look forward to.
