By Thomas Campion — La Solitaire du Figaro
Spectacular conditions erupted along the Galician coast during the opening night of stage two of La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec. Battered by an aggressive storm system, the fleet moved considerably faster than the weather forecasts had predicted, and by dawn, the leading skippers were crossing the intermediate sprint line positioned between Cape Finisterre’s north-easterly point and Rocundo lighthouse. Composed, stubborn and laser-focused, Alexis Thomas aboard Wings of the Ocean pulled off an impressive coastal leg and rounded the mark in front. That first night played out like an extended tactical arm-wrestle. Before casting off yesterday afternoon, every skipper knew this leg would unfold like an accordion—your gain, my loss. On the water, the yo-yo effect proved relentless. Every move was fair game to hunt for gains up north, squeezing the most from coastal effects or grabbing extra pressure offshore. As the hours ticked by, across waters ablaze with lightning, positions shifted constantly. Alexis Thomas showed brilliant foresight, opting early to sail west of the fleet before repositioning at precisely the right moment. That gamble paid off, letting him lead Hugo Cardon (Sarth’Atlantique), Martin Le Pape (Paprec), Loïs Berrehar (Banque Populaire) and Marin Carnot (Fondation Lejeune)—who’s made a cracking start—across the intermediate sprint line. Further back, roughly a third of the fleet got shafted by the light air and are fighting to escape the doldrums. That struggling group includes Adrien Hardy (Sans nature, pas de futur !), Laure Galley (Hauterive) and Léo Bothorel (Decathlon), sitting about ten miles adrift of the leading bunch. Race director Yann Chateau offered his analysis: “Gidday everyone, the opening night of stage two of La Solitaire du Figaro-Paprec 2026 has been absolutely mental. We’ve got wind management, day and night thermal effects, heaps of transitions, plus thunderstorms painting the sky—particularly onshore but occasionally reaching the water. Obviously, in these conditions, things shuffled constantly. We saw groups becalmed, stage a comeback, get becalmed again—genuinely tricky to manage out there. And the sailors got almost no sleep, having to stay ready for every possible sail configuration, swinging from zero to 30 knots in seconds or minutes. But this leg’s far from over, and the Bay of Biscay throws up plenty of hurdles yet.” With this marathon stage still in its infancy, success will likely hinge on the sailors’ ability to read genuinely complex weather, where localised systems and pressure shifts mean every strategic call could swing the race.
Originally published in French by La Solitaire du Figaro.
