Paris (AFP)

Three days before the scheduled arrival at Les Sables d'Olonne, Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée 2) took over the Vendée Globe leader position from Charlie Dalin (Apivia) on Sunday noon, but their pursuer Boris Herrmann (Seaexplorer-Yacht Club de Monaco), provided with a time bonus, hangs on.

The fierce mano a mano which has been engaged between the two French sailors for ten days has never stopped experiencing new developments and we are heading towards the tightest end of the race in the history of the event.

What to give balm to the hearts of the organizers despite the absence of spectators at Les Sables d'Olonne due to the pandemic.

They had been around 350,000 to attend the triumph of Armel le Cléac'h in 2017.

Pointed 15 nautical miles (27.8 km) from Dalin seven hours earlier, Burton is now 5.4 nautical miles (10 km) ahead of Dalin.

Hermann, for his part, has grappled slightly on the lead and is now at 44.7 nm (82.7 km).

And the German skipper has a major advantage since he will benefit from six hours of compensation on arrival, for having participated in the rescue of Kevin Escoffier in early December.

"Everything is fine on board, I feel good and I am looking forward. Three days, only three days ...", savored Hermann.

If he remains in contact with the two leading men, until Wednesday, the estimated day of the finish, he could well be crowned without having crossed the line in the lead and become the first foreigner to win in the legendary race in lonely around the world nonstop.

"The nights are incredibly long, they last between 1 and 2 pm. In a way, it helps a bit to sleep, but it's also strange," said the German.

- North option for Bestaven -

"The program to follow is to jibe, then dry out the hold at the stern where I have a tiny bit of water coming from the steering system. It's really not much. but over time, it accumulates. I no longer have the sponge, it has disintegrated. I'm going to use a T-shirt, "he detailed.

Dalin does not admit defeat.

"We are in contact from a distance!", He said Sunday morning about his duel with Burton.

"We are in contact but we sail in different areas, it's been like that with Louis (Burton) for a while," recalled the 36-year-old skipper, who obviously notes that "Boris (Herrmann) managed to come back too".

"I have a little less wind in front, I am starting to stumble a bit at the front of the system," explained Le Havrais.

"From time to time, I have small losses of wind force. There is still something to do! I prefer to be there than behind," assured Dalin, who remains positive.

In fourth position, Thomas Rettant is 106 nm (196 km) from the lead.

Long leader but now fifth, Yannick Bestaven (Maître Coq IV) is 163 nm (301 km) from Burton but he will have a time bonus of 10 hours and 15 minutes on arrival.

"I will try to get some sleep because with the passage of the front at the beginning of the night, I had little rest," he said.

"I had squalls at over 30 knots. I'm a little overpowered. It's going well," said Bestaven.

"My routings make me say that we will all arrive at the same time so we might as well try an option by going north rather than following the herd," he revealed.

"And then, I do not want to go through the winds of the Azores. It spices up a bit," warned the native of Saint-Nazaire.

© 2021 AFP