First to cross the finish line but second in the Vendée Globe standings, behind Yannick Bestaven, Charlie Dalin, freshly disembarked after 80 days at sea, expressed his emotion on Thursday morning at the microphone of Europe 1. Fair play, the Apivia skipper only wants to remember the positive. 

INTERVIEW

A victory on the line, as the Vendée Globe has never seen before.

Yannick Bestaven won the famous solo round the world trip on Thursday, although he came third in Les Sables-d'Olonne, behind Charlie Dalin and Louis Burton.

But the navigator was able to benefit from a compensatory time of ten hours for having rescued at the end of November to another participant, Kevin Escoffier.

Charlie Dalin, demoted to second place in the standings after a few hours, can however congratulate himself on a triumphant arrival aboard his monohull Apivia.

"I was happy to have the honors of the finish line. That, we will not remove", he tells the microphone of Europe 1. "I found myself surrounded by a cloud of semi-rigid, clamor. And after, I was a little thrown into the den of lions of the media present in the area. The transition really took place in a few seconds. It's quite confusing ", explains the Breton of 36 years.

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He retains no bitterness at having lost first place, because in his eyes time bonuses are an integral part of the competition.

"It is quite normal that when we divert to go and save someone, we have compensation in time," he insists.

"It was played within a few hours. I have no regrets. I'm happy with the copy I returned of my race. It was a huge pleasure to cross the finish line in the lead last night." 

An edition rich in twists and turns

Ultimately

, the gap between Charlie Dalin and Yannick Bestaven is only 2h30 over 80 days at sea. "Throughout the race, in the North Atlantic, in the South Atlantic, in the South Seas ... There were constant weather conditions that allowed the pursuers to come back, which created a lot of twists, "said Charlie Dalin.

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It was a shipwreck that changed the race, that of Kevin Escoffier on November 30.

"It's good in spite of myself. You can imagine that I would have preferred to arrive by sea at Les Sables-d'Olonne. I would have preferred to stay with the competitors to fight for a better place in the Vendée Globe", lamented Kévin Escoffier, also at the microphone of Europe 1.

“I was on the water that night for Charlie Dalin's arrival. I thought I had a pang of heart and frustration. And in the end, I was taken by the emotion of his arrival. J 'was really happy for him, "he concludes.