Horeau wins Imoca and Bourgnon wins Ocean Fifty at the Route du Rhum

Two French sailors, two classes, two minutes apart. On Wednesday 11 November, Corentin Horeau and Basile Bourgnon both crossed the Route du Rhum finish line in Guadeloupe as winners.

What happened?

Bourgnon was first home. The 24-year-old won the Ocean Fifty class (50-foot racing trimarans) at 1:12 local time in Guadeloupe, which was 6:12 in Paris.

Horeau followed two minutes later, at 1:14 local time (6:14 in Paris). He is the first Imoca skipper (the monohull class of the Vendée Globe) to finish, after 9 days, 17 hours, 12 minutes and 9 seconds at sea.

Horeau is 37 and from Brittany. He already won the Solitaire du Figaro in 2023. This was his first Route du Rhum, and he also set a new record for the Imoca class, beating the previous one by almost two days. He described it as a state of grace.

Why does Bourgnon's win mean so much?

The name matters here. Basile's father, Laurent Bourgnon, won the Route du Rhum in 1994 and 1998. He remains the only sailor to have won it twice.

Laurent died in a diving accident in 2015. Basile's victory comes 28 years after his father's last win, and he let his joy show as he crossed the line.

What came before?

The solo transatlantic race left Saint-Malo on 1 November with fleets in several classes, including Ultim, Imoca and Ocean Fifty. On 8 November, Tom Laperche won the Ultim class, the biggest boats, and set a new race record.

With the Imoca and Ocean Fifty winners now in, the top of the leaderboard is settled in three major classes. Other sailors are still crossing the Atlantic towards Pointe-à-Pitre.