More than two and a half months after their departure from Les Sables-d'Olonne on November 8, the first Vendée Globe yachts are back on Wednesday in the Vendée port after 79 days of racing.

But beware: the first to cross the finish line will not necessarily be the winner of the competition.

It's the big day: the first Vendée Globe skippers are expected on Wednesday in the Vendée port, after 79 days of a solo round-the-world tour, non-stop and without intense assistance, as Charlie Dalin has reported every week in his logbook on Europe 1. But beware, the first to cross the finish line will not necessarily be the winner of the Vendée Globe: time bonuses have in fact been granted to three sailors for their diversion in order to rescue to Kévin Escoffier at the end of November, which could upset the final ranking.

While Charlie Dalin (Apivia) and Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée 2) have been neck and neck for several days, we bring you the arrival of the Vendée Globe.

The main information

• The first skippers are expected at the start of the afternoon in Les Sables-d'Olonne

• The winner will not be known until several hours after the arrival of the first

• Armel Le Cléac'h's record will not be broken

Escoffier's shadow on the ranking

The assistance given to Kévin Escoffier at the end of November could considerably affect the final classification of this Vendée Globe.

Everyone remembers the images of the PRB skipper rescued by Jean Le Cam on November 30.

Like him, Yannick Bestaven (Maître Coq IV) and Boris Herrmann (SeaExplorer-Yacht Club de Monaco) had diverted to go and rescue Kévin Escoffier.

"In view of the time spent on the rescue and after evaluating the impact on the race, the jury awarded" compensation to the three skippers, which will be applied when crossing the finish line, the organization said.

Here is the detail : 

• 4:15 p.m. for Jean Le Cam

• 10:15 am for Yannick Bestaven

• 6h for Boris Herrmann

Concretely, if Boris Herrmann arrives three hours after Charlie Dalin in Sables-d'Olonne, he will be classified ahead of him.

And if Jean Le Cam arrives 7 hours after Boris Herrmann (and ten after the skipper of Apivia), he will automatically pass in front of them.

A beautiful puzzle in perspective ... 

>> LISTEN -

Dalin and Bestaven analyze the race 48

hours

from the finish

Dalin and Burton neck and neck, no record

Who will be the first to arrive in Les Sables-d'Olonne?

Who will win the 9th Vendée Globe?

The suspense is total.

Since the passage off Brazil, Charlie Dalin and Louis Burton have been playing cat and mouse in the lead, closely followed by Thomas Roût (LinkedOut) and Boris Herrmann, who are all standing within a few tens of miles.

But Yannick Bestaven and his ten hours of compensation are in ambush some 200 miles (370 km). 

The only certainty: the record set by Armel Le Cléac'h in 2017 on Banque Populaire VIII in 74 days, 3 hours, 35 minutes and 46 seconds, will not be broken.

The race is far from over ...

But the race is far from over for a dozen sailors, still far from the finish line.

Despite his recovery, Jérémie Beyou (Charal), forced to return to repair his boat in Les Sables a few days after the start, is still more than 3,000 miles from the finish.

As for the last of the fleet, Ari Huusela (Starck), he has only just crossed Cape Horn, more than 11,000 kilometers from Vendée ...