The skipper of Région Bretagne-CMB Performance crossed the finish line at 6:54 p.m. and 48 seconds, noted an AFP journalist.

His victory in the last stage of the race allows him to take first place in the provisional general classification before verification by the jury, said the organizers of the race.

"I'm super happy that my efforts paid off on this last stage," the 25-year-old navigator told AFP, all smiles on his boat after his arrival in Saint-Nazaire.

Le Breton won for the first time in this prestigious race which saw the birth and hardening of the greatest sailors.

He succeeds Pierre Quiroga on the list.

"It's a huge feeling of lightness and satisfaction," he said, shortly after crossing the finish line.

"When you see how much you have to hurt yourself and how hard it is to be in front, it's wonderful," he continued.

Laperche won the last stage in three days 6 hours 54 minutes.

He finished first overall in a cumulative time of 10 days 20 hours 20 minutes.

On this third stage, he is ahead of Gaston Morvan (Région Bretagne - CMB Espoir) by 29 minutes and Elodie Bonafous (Queguiner La Vie en Rose) by 48 minutes.

At 26, the young woman who was one of the five sailors in the race, is the second woman in the history of this race to climb on the podium of a stage after the Englishwoman Clare Francis in 1975.

Laperche, from Loudéac (Côtes d'Armor) and from the Bretagne CMB sector which has trained big names in sailing, was the big favorite in this race in which he had already participated in 2020 and 2021, finishing each time in 3rd place.

"I will have won all the races this year", welcomed the skipper, who has already won the solo Maître Coq, Le Havre Allmer Cup and the solo Concarneau in 2022.

In the provisional general classification, Guillaume Pirouelle is second (10d 21h 26min), and Achille Nebout 3rd (10d 21h 55min)

Laperche, who had only finished 9th in the 1st stage between Nantes and Port-La-Forêt (Finistère), had made up part of his delay by arriving 3rd on the 2nd stage in the Bay of Biscay.

"When I left Royan last Sunday and all the way around Spain, I thought it was going to work. The boat was well trimmed and I sailed well, with a wind that was probably favorable to me. It's the stage where I gave the most and I'm super happy to win this year. It's crazy, it's extraordinary. Last night, I slept very little, three times twenty minutes." he summarized.

Thirty-four competitors took part in this 53rd Solitaire du Figaro, which started on August 21 from Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef (Loire-Atlantique).

For this great summer classic, the sailors all had an identical boat, this year a Figaro Bénéteau 3, a 10.85 m long monohull fitted with foils, these appendages which allow them to take off from the surface of the water.

© 2022 AFP