For his first participation, Tom Laperche (SVR Lazartigue) won the prestigious Route du Rhum on Saturday evening in Guadeloupe, in record time.

Published on: 08/11/2026 - 04:00Modified on: 08/11/2026 - 10:13

He beat the previous record set by Charles Caudrelier in 2022 by 6 hours and 19 minutes. Tom Laperche (SVR Lazartigue) won the prestigious Route du Rhum on Saturday evening in Guadeloupe.

The 29-year-old skipper, who was participating for the first time, crossed the line in Pointe-à-Pitre at 10:31 p.m. local time, or 3:31 a.m. Sunday in Paris, after 6 days 13 hours and 27 minutes at sea.

Approaching the finish buoy, the young sailor, usually reserved, let his joy explode, jumping barefoot several times onto the large net of his trimaran, while greeting his technical team who had come to accompany him in the last miles.

After almost a week in total isolation in the Atlantic, the skipper found in a few moments the embraces of his loved ones, the flashes of dozens of photographers and the applause of thousands of people gathered on the quays.

“It’s a huge victory, it’s my dream race, when I started sailing if there was one thing I wanted to win, it was the Route du Rhum,” said Laperche on the pontoons, his eyes shining with emotion.

Absolutely alone at the head of the fleet for several days, he brilliantly negotiated the last difficulty of the crossing, a perilous tour of Guadeloupe, which required numerous maneuvers against the wind.

“Absolutely extraordinary” moments

“In this race, I sometimes managed to slip into a form of state of grace: as soon as I made a decision, it was the right one,” said Laperche, describing these moments as “absolutely extraordinary to experience”.

Once the champagne was uncorked, his little brother Mathieu, his father Philippe, dentist and former ocean racer, his mother Sabine and his grandparents jumped on him to hug him.

Gifted at sailing, Laperche had never before taken part in the famous solo transatlantic race, which celebrated its 13th edition this year.

“I have always seen incredible images of the arrivals of great champions, (...) I am extremely impressed by the welcome and the noise, it touches me enormously,” he said towards the Guadeloupeans, who were very numerous despite the late hour.

He started favorite at the helm of the SVR Lazartigue, a boat designed in the MerConcept team of Charente sailor François Gabart, the winner of the 2012/2013 Vendée Globe and his mentor for a very long time.

“I did an internship alongside François in 2019 and this magnificent trimaran was still in the construction phase. I didn’t know what it would lead to but he believed even before me that I was capable of leading these boats. I will never thank him enough,” underlined Laperche.

A hundred boats still at sea

Launched in 2021, the big blue trimaran won the Transat Café L'Or last year and in September the last confrontation between giants of the seas. It was considered the best prepared Ultim in the fleet at the start of Le Rhum, with Armel Le Cléac'h's Banque Populaire.

But while following Laperche's trail during the first third of the journey, Le Cléac'h capsized before being rescued a few hours later "in good health" by a Panamanian cargo ship.

“I can tell you that when you learn this alone in the middle of the ocean, it’s quite an emotion, it freezes the blood. I didn’t really know what to do and I was really feverish,” said Laperche.

He also benefited from a bonus of one hour and two minutes for having temporarily diverted towards Le Cléac'h, which had quickly triggered its distress beacon.

“After the accident, the appearance of the race changed a little. Risk management became much more important, relegating performance management a little lower in the pile of priorities,” detailed Franck Cammas, winner of the Route du Rhum in 2010 and integrated into the champion’s routing cell this year.

Thomas Coville (Sodebo) and Louis Burton (Armand Thiery), the first pursuers of Laperche in Ultim, should complete the podium on Sunday. On the Atlantic, the battle continues for the skippers of the other classes.

More than a hundred boats are expected until December 3 in Point-à-Pitre.

With AFP

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