The start of the Vendée Globe in 2016. -

Maxime Le Pihif / SIPA

Vendée Globe skippers ready to sail around the world solo and non-stop should benefit from good weather for the start which will take place according to a strict health protocol on Sunday in Sables-d'Olonne, race organizers said. Saturday.

“For the day Sunday, we should leave in rather good conditions with the south-easterly wind (...) with 12 to 15 knots of wind more or less south-easterly.

The situation will get a little trickier in the evening, since the first competitors will cross in the second part of the night a low pressure which is off Ireland ”, detailed during a press point Christian Dumard, meteorologist of the race .

The 33 sailors who are due to set off on Sunday in the hope of breaking the 74-day record set in 2017 by Armel Le Cléac'h will leave “the Vendée Globe pontoon every four minutes, the first at 8.15 am and the last at 10:23 am” , explained the race director, Jacques Caraës, recalling that the start is then given at 13:02.

Unlike the eight previous editions, the public will not be massed along the channel and pleasure boats will not be able to accompany the athletes to encourage them because of the confinement, but the event will be filmed and broadcast live.

“It's almost like a ghost town and it's pretty depressing obviously because the audience, the people here that I've seen the previous times are a big part of what's going on,” explained the airline pilot. Finnish Ari Huusela, who will be the last to leave the pontoon with his Stark boat.

"It's a little sad, it's a joyful event, even if it's a little stressful, and suddenly the whole festive part is completely put aside", regretted Clarisse Crémer (Banque Populaire X), the most young of the six women involved.

"With the media we only use video and telephone, we have a lot less various and varied sponsorship events and suddenly we are much more rested, we are less to the right to the left so that's a positive point, we is more focused on the racing part I think, ”she qualified.

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