Departing Thursday night from Hyères, the nine boats in the race spent the night at sea and arrived in Nice in the late afternoon. It was Courrier Dunkerque (Daniel Souben) that crossed the finish line, located in front of the port, first. The team from the North is very close to the final victory.
The race management and the Press Center scheduled a meeting at 4 PM, Quai Cassini, port of Nice where several “press” boats were preparing to set sail. A short fifteen minutes of sailing to meet the fleet of the Tour de France à la voile. Onboard, the national press and television were, of course, present for this final liaison stage.
The fleet was delayed from the scheduled times. And for good reason, no wind, so the boats were not moving. With an average of about 5-6 knots or 10-11 km/h, it took nearly 22 hours for the first, Courrier Dunkerque, to cover the 110 miles (203 km) between Hyères and Nice. At the end of a long and stressful stage, the skippers’ faces were drawn.
The battle, since the starting cannon in the bay of Hyères, had been fratricidal between the leader, Courrier Dunkerque, and its runner-up, Groupama, skippered by the talented Franck Cammas. Each had its strategy and, in the end, that of the Northerners proved more judicious. The team from the North took, shortly after departure, the option to bypass Porquerolles to the north while Franck Cammas and his team bypassed the island to the south. A winning choice for Daniel Souben’s men, already double winners of the Tour de France à la voile in 2008 and 2009.
Barring disaster this Saturday in the bay of Nice, Daniel Souben, skipper of Courrier Dunkerque, will win his third Tour de France à la voile after collecting second places. The delay in the English Channel proved costly for the titleholder, Groupama, as did this last liaison stage where it took 4th place and lost 9 points to the Dunkirk team.
In the overall standings, Courrier Dunkerque has a 17-point lead with three technical courses remaining to be contested during the day. Each victory will earn 25 points and the last place of ninth, 16 points. The team from the North has a strong hold on the 2014 trophy.
