Rennes (AFP)

The monohull of Jérémie Beyou and Christopher Pratt (Charal) was still running in the lead on Sunday morning in the Imoca category of the Transat Jacques Vabre (TJV), ahead of Clarisse Cremer and Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire).

In front of them, the three multihulls engaged in this 14th edition of the Transat, part of Le Havre Sunday, are still in the lead, close to the archipelago of Cape Verde.

"We are going to visit the Cape Verde Islands! In principle, we will go through the archipelago and then we will turn west to attack the Doldrums," said Gilles Lamiré, who leads the race with Antoine Carpentier (GCA Group - A thousand and one smiles).

The Doldrums, also called intertropical convergence zone, is a dreaded place for skippers who experience the vagaries of the wind.

At 08:00 GMT, Charal was at the head of the Imoca fleet, the 18-meter monohulls that are the stars of the legendary race around the world alone, the Vendée Globe.

Now 2,322.3 nautical miles from their point of arrival, the Brazilian port of Salvador de Bahia, Jérémie Beyou and Christopher Pratt are followed by Cremer and Le Cléac'h at 53.54 nm.

In Class40, the tandem Ian Lipinski and Adrien Hardy (Crédit Mutuel) keep the first place, followed closely by Sam Goodchild and Fabien Delahaye (Leyton) and by the tandem Aymeric Chappellier and Pierre Leboucher (Aina Childhood and Future) .

The fleet of the 14th Transat Jacques Vabre stretched Sunday morning over 1,000 miles (1.852 km) of the first multihull Group GCA - A thousand and one smiles in the last Class40 Exotic Land ... The fastest have already achieved half of the race.

Standings Friday at 08:00 GMT:

. Multi50 (50ft / 15m multihull) - 3 engaged

1. Gilles Lamiré / Antoine Carpentier (GCA Group - A Thousand and One Smiles) at 2001.4 nm from the finish

2. Sébastien Rogues / Matthieu Souben (Primonial) at 24.4 nm from the 1st

3. Thibaut Vauchel-Camus / Frédéric Duthil (ARSEP Solidarity in the Peloton) at 130.63 nm

. Imoca (60-foot / 18-m monohull) - 29 hired

1. Jérémie Beyou / Christopher Pratt (Charal) at 2322.3 nm from the finish

2. Clarisse Crémer / Armel le Cleac'h (Banque Populaire) at 53.54 nm from 1st

3. Charlie Dalin / Yann Eliès (Apivia) at 68.29 nm

4. Kevin Escoffier / Nicolas Lunven (PRB) at 99.19 nm

5. Charlie Enright / Pascal Bidegorry (11th Hour Racing) at 110.66 nm

6. Damien Seguin / Yoann Richomme (Apicil Group) at 133.48 nm

7. Nicolas Troussel / Jean Le Cam (Corum L'Epargne) at 140.34 nm

8. Sam Davies / Paul Meilhat (Heart Initiatives) at 155.48 nm

9. Sébastien Simon / Vincent Riou (Arkea-Paprec) at 168.46 nm

10. Fabrice Amedeo / Eric Péron (Newrest-Arts & Windows) at 206.13 nm

...

. Class40 (40ft / 12m monohull) - 27 engaged

1. Ian Lipinski / Adrien Hardy (Credit Mutuel) at 2.900,6 nm from the finish

2. Sam Goodchild / Fabien Delahaye (Leyton) at 8.79 nm from the first

3. Aymeric Chappellier / Pierre Leboucher (Aina Childhood and Future) at 11.08 nm from the first

© 2019 AFP