13th place was not on the wish list when Jérémie Beyou started the 9th Vendée Globe on November 8th with his imposing Imoc "Charal" - the 44-year-old wanted more, much more. Along with the "Hugo Boss" skipper Alex Thomson, who later retired, he was one of the pre-start favorites and had at least one podium place in his sights. But instead of the hoped-for demonstration of strength, Bruch in Serie had previously forced Beyou to return to the start and destination port of Les Sables-d'Olonne as a result of a collision. The fact that the stumbled man and his rural team decided to start again despite the hopeless deficit (9 days, 2 hours and 50 minutes after the field), was not only credited to him by his sponsors.
A conciliatory finale for the stumbled Vendée Globe star, who never gave up and fell in love with the race more than ever
"Big station" for ex-favorite Jérémie Beyou on his return to Les Sables-d'Olonne
Under these circumstances, Beyou was able to make up a lot of his deficit and contested an impressive race that presented the initially lonely hunter with great challenges, especially in the first phase. At the finish, Jérémie Beyou was not short of a new personal best when looking at his official total sailing time of 89 days, 18 hours, 55 minutes and 58 seconds. If you mentally deduct the above-mentioned delay - i.e. the time for sailing back to Les Sables and the repair days until the restart on November 17th at 5.10 p.m. - the net sailing time for Beyou is 80 days, 16 hours, 5 Minutes and 58 seconds. Based on this theoretical total performance, six boats were faster in comparison.
The ex-favorite did it: Jérémie Beyou finished 13th in the ninth Vendée Globe on Saturday morning. The unusual course of his race allows him to see the Vendée Globe with different eyes …
Jérémie Beyou: "I'm proud!"
Jérémie Beyou, who had to bite himself audibly and visibly through the first few weeks of the race before he found his regatta joy again, appeared relaxed at the finish on Saturday morning (February 6th), happily united with his family and team and reconciled with the Vendée Globe, which tested him so hard in this edition. "It was a whole new, fabulous experience for me," said Beyou. "I've been asked about my worst memories. But you only remember the good times. I'm super proud and super happy with everything I've been through. It wasn't easy psychologically. You are preparing for something that will be a high point in life This time with 'Charal', with this team and with this boat, I thought that my chance had come. You just can't get it out of your head. The thoughts stay and move. But at some point the positive thoughts predominated. And then you are right in the middle of the story and just enjoying the moment. It's a long-lasting experience and you go through all the typical states of a Vendée Globe. I am in a much better condition today than I was 80 days ago when restarting."
Jérémie Beyou with the happy prospect of his imminent arrival
The race to catch up as motivation
Beyou reported on the course of the race: "Reconnecting to the fleet was very important for me because I felt very isolated at the beginning of the race. It's nicer with opponents, because otherwise you're only chasing records outside, but not on the Vendée Globe participates. It was important to catch up because that provides additional motivation. But that was not that easy, because the others sail well too. Let me make it clear: Anyone who takes part in the Vendée Globe qualifies for it, because he knows how to sail well. If I put the speed up a bit you could see that they were trying to resist. You can't always win in sports, especially sailing. It was Yannick who did the race Has won brilliantly, but there will be new opportunities for me. I had to do nine Solitaires du Figaro to win the race. I don't know how many Vendée Globes it will take. But this is my story."
Jérémie Beyou at the end of what was for him an extraordinarily demanding Vendée Globe
Regarding the outcome of the race, Beyou said: "There are no rules in this race. If you look at the final podium positions - without wanting to offend anyone - not very many would have bet on it. In my experience, I'm not one who easily gives up before he has reached his goal. So if it takes nine editions, I'll probably be around for a while. I hope I can be with the next edition. When it was time for me to go back to the Going through races could have pissed me off because it wasn't easy to manage. But I went out in humility and found pride in doing the daily little fights, like the day I had to climb the mast. I hate that! But I was proud of myself when I did it. It all made me love this race even more. And the little frustration about the placement made ic h want to be there again next time."
Jérémie Beyou was able to smile again during the first interviews on land and later gave deep insights into the rollercoaster of emotions that he has experienced in the past three months
Jérémie Beyou: "My idol is Michael Jordan"
"In previous Vendée Globe missions, I have barely communicated with my opponents. If you fight at the top, it's also a psychological battle. If you interact with your rivals, you could reveal your weaknesses. So you prefer yours Closing the hatches. But if you sail behind, then the pressure is less. I wanted to share, wanted to see their point of view and understand their actions. My idol is Michael Jordan: He plays to win; or he doesn't play. And Now I have discovered that you can play, not to win, but to complete a project with all your ideas and your convictions and to satisfy yourself. All these skippers compete for it. Before that it seemed inappropriate to me, with no chances of winning a race But that is and will remain a great challenge. And you will remain great skippers who deserve everything."
A Bengalo for Beyou: the "Charal" skipper celebrates its arrival in Les Sables-d'Olonne
Jérémie Beyou's plans for the coming weeks? "First chill out with the family! I want to spend time with them and my dog and rest at home. The season will start again quickly. This recovery phase should not be underestimated, because a race like this exhausts you. When I have recovered, I will only have one wish: find the next starting line!"
Reunification with his two boys: PapJérémie Beyou in happiness
Here you can find the tracker and the results (please click!). SamanthDavie's partner Romain Attanasio ("Pure - Best Western Hotels and Resorts") is expected to be the next skipper in Les Sables-d'Olonne. Davies himself was eliminated as a result of a collision, as was the German-French Isabelle Joschke later, who is now sailing back to the destination port of Les Sables parallel to Davies outside the classification.
