While the fight for the final victory remains incredibly intense at the top of the Vendée Globe, two former winners of the race, Armel Le Cléac'h and François Gabart, who also had a suspenseful finish, recount the feelings of the sailors at a few hours from arrival.

TESTIMONY

The suspense remains total in the Vendée Globe.

On the eve of the finish in Les Sables d'Olonne, there are still four, even five skippers who can claim the final victory.

Especially since the hourly compensation granted to some after the rescue of Kevin Escoffier adds to the uncertainty.

Even Charlie Dalin, currently in the lead, is not sure whether he will win the piece if he crosses the finish line first.

On boats, inevitably, stress increases over the hours.

Europe 1 appealed to the memories of two former winners, Armel Le Cléac'h and François Gabart, who experienced similar situations during previous editions of one of the most prestigious races in the world.

"There are a lot of things going through your head"

These two have therefore experienced this terrible feeling, this fear of losing everything in the last few hours.

First, Armel Le Cléac'h.

He lived a close final, second eight years ago, less than three hours after François Gabart, before knowing the happiness of victory in 2017, with 15 hours ahead of the second.

But what stress!

"Me, I lived both, in 2012-2013, the position of hunter and then four years later, it was the other way around", says the Breton sailor.

"There are a lot of things that go through your mind because you feel that the finish is approaching, while there is still work."

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And with stress, black thoughts can arise.

"We feel that something is going to end and finally, we slowly start to get out of our marathon pace. So, we start to have bad scenarios in our heads, saying to ourselves' I hope I will not dismast, I hope that I will not type an ofni, I hope that I will not take a fishing boat '", recounts Armel Le Cléac'h.

"And so, it's time for it to end because we're starting to get out of focus a little bit."

"This is what we will look for when is athletic"

François Gabart, the youngest Vendée Globe winner, only savored it at the last moment.

"I felt comfortable on the line. It's really a few seconds or minutes before I said to myself 'it should do it'", assures the Charentais.

“Honestly, I'm always super focused on the boat. I tell myself that this is not the time to make a mistake. And that until really a few seconds before the finish. It was really very, very intense."

But as stressful as they are, these moments also provide a great feeling of elation.

"It's so intense that that's what we are going to look for when it is sporting", confirms François Gabart.

“In the end, it's these super tight finishes, it's this intensity in each movement we make, in each maneuver, because there is a very strong stake. And it's fabulous to be able to experience these moments of sport. "

And once the line is crossed, the winner falls into another world, swept away by a surge of emotions, which contrasts with the mastery of the last hours.