British sailor Alex Thomson has stepped into the lead on his brand new, multi million Euro racing yacht HUGO BOSS in the Transat Jacque Vabre (TJV), part of the Ocean Masters World Championship. The race started in Le Harve, France yesterday at 13.30. Alex is competing alongside his Spanish co-skipper, Guillermo Altadill, as they currently place themselves ahead of their second place finish in their last outing in this transatlantic race.
Team Director Stewart Hosford explains ‘It is great we have stepped into the lead so early in the race and although early days as a team our objectives are to learn about the boat whilst still being competitive in this edition of the TJV. Alex and Guillermo are continuously learning and developing techniques to optimise the new foiling HUGO BOSS. There is a split in the fleet. Alex and Guillermo have taken the more southerly route. The courses sailed by both groups will be challenging but the southerly option should see a more manageable sea state. HUGO BOSS are sailing a more direct route and therefore will hopefully hold the lead. We expect the boats to the north to come back strong through the depression as the fleet begins to sail south.’’
The Transat Jacque Vabre saw 20 IMOCA racing yachts start in this year’s edition as the teams race for approximately three weeks working towards the finish line in the Brazilian city of Itajai, south of Rio de Janeiro, seeing the yachts complete the 5,400 nautical mile journey across the Atlantic.
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