Arrived second of the Route du Rhum, in Imoca, Yann Eliès (Ucar Saint-Michel) blamed himself for having missed the management of the first ridge which saw the group of head to escape. He will now devote all his energy to find a new co-sponsor to build a brand new Imoca for the Vendée Globe 2020, where he hopes to play the leading roles.
I'm broken. The Imoca demand a riot of crazy energy. You have to manage your time, your sleep, your strategy, your mind and your physical effort. These are dozens of small tasks to negotiate a day, which make everything very difficult.
80 miles behind
This Route du Rhum has been incredible. After the first days, I thought it was over for me the podium! I found myself stuck in an area without wind the day after departure, I saw Paul and Vincent escape and the whole fleet back on me. When I finally got out of this trap, I was 80 miles behind the top three.
"Not far from winning"
I finished the race very hard, and I even came back three miles from Paul Meilhat along the west coast of the island. I thought for a moment that I was going to do it, but he escaped again, and I remained stuck. But, when I resumed my race, I say to myself that I made some small mistakes, but I was not far from being able to win the Route du Rhum. "