Skipper Boris Herrmann is the provisional leader of the Route du Rhum in the Imoca category. The German, at the helm of Malizia II - Monaco's yacht club, took the lead in the monohulls by overtaking Britain's Alex Thomson. The presence of Boris Herrmann at the outposts of the Route du Rhum is a surprise for the principal, for whom "the podium is not very realistic." Who is Boris Herrmann the surprising leader of the Imoca fleet?
Boris Herrmann is the surprise of the Route du Rhum in the Imoca category. The German skipper is, this Friday, the leader of the fleet in monohulls. His Imoca Malizia II - Monaco Yacht Club is about twenty miles ahead of the British Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss). Thomson, like the rest of the Imoca fleet, chose an option south to the Canary Islands. A choice different from that of Boris Herrmann, who takes an option north, so closer to the great circle and the Azores. Who is Boris Herrmann the surprising leader of the Imoca fleet?
Born in Oldenburg, Germany, Boris Herrmann, 37, participates in his first Route du Rhum. But he is a regular at offshore racing. The German has forged a solid experience for 10 years now: 2nd in the British Transat (2008), Winner of the Portimao Global Ocean Race (2009) and 5th in the Barcelona World Race (2010).
" The podium ? Not very realistic »
In 2010, Herrmann discovered Saint-Malo on the occasion of the 9th Route du Rhum. But he is not yet skipper, he works with Roland Jourdain to prepare the best Veolia Environment. With success, because Jordan is needed in Imoca.
In 2016, he participated in the Jules Verne Trophy in the crew of Francis Joyon on Idec Sport. Boris Herrmann is involved with Pierre Casiraghi's Yacht-Club Monaco to take part in the 2018 Route du Rhum and the Vendée Globe 2020. Casiraghi and Herrmann compete together in the Transat Jacques-Vabre and finish with the honors: a 5th place .
Supervised by Michel Desjoyeaux for his first "Rum", Boris Herrmann trains on Malizia II (ex-Gitana XVI), a foiler of generation 2015. What to feed ambitions of victory? Not really ! "Of course I dream of the podium, but it may not be very realistic, so I will say that I am aiming for the first third," said the German. However, after more than 5 days of racing, the leader is him!