The skipper from Vaud dominated the race from start to finish at the helm of the Psaros 40 Cellmen ARDENTIS, taking his third victory in real time after 2017 and 2020. He is ahead of the Luthi 1090 Katana, helmed by 17-year-old Alexander De Weck, and the Psaros 33 MSC helmed by Nicolas Groux.
Geneva, August 27, 2022 – The 49th edition of the Syz Translémanique en Solitaire 2022 brought together 125 sailors on Saturday in exceptional conditions, with a light Bise well established over the whole lake and in glorious sunshine.
The only Psaros 40 entered this year, Cellmen ARDENTIS, helmed by François Thorens, benefited from its top speed and stable conditions to build up a comfortable lead over its pursuers, crossing the finish line at 20h40’27”, after 11 hours and ten minutes of solo sailing. He edged out 17-year-old Alexander De Weck, skipper of Katana, by just 41 seconds after a breathless finish. Nicolas Groux, skipper of Psaros 33 MSC, took third place.
“I’m extremely happy; it was an exceptional day’s sailing, with absolutely perfect conditions,” exclaimed the overall winner at the end of the race. “I’m also very happy to finish just ahead of a young racer, who sailed a very good race. It’s not all old dinosaurs: there are also some very talented young hopefuls.”
Young up-and-comer Alexander De Weck came very close to springing a surprise, coming back like a cannonball on Thorens between Yvoire and Geneva, only to fail in his wake. “I’m very happy. It’s my first Translémanique on the Katana and I’ve had a lot of fun. I think I made a lot of mistakes due to my lack of experience. I’ll be back next year, but this time to win.”
Nicolas Groux, in third place, came back into contact with the leading group on the crossing between Lausanne and Yvoire, benefiting from a more favorable wind angle than his direct rivals.
The whole race took place in ideal conditions. The Bise settled on the small lake at the start time, allowing the fastest yachts to leave the small lake in just over two hours.
A number of yachts with lesser performance than the “carbon sleds” made a remarkable start to the race, such as the Esse 850s of David Pertuiset and Sébastien Lazareth, 11th and 12th respectively in Le Bouveret, or Jennifer Schlup, 17th, the first woman and leader of the Grand Surprise category in Le Bouveret. The first Surprise was Kahlua, owned by Cédric Pochelon, ahead of Hauraki (Ireneu Pla) and Adrénaline Les 2 Rives (Thierry Campiche).
For all his rivals, it’s going to be another long night. Finally, remember that the race is run on corrected time: the rating of each yacht, which takes into account its size, weight, sail area, etc., must be multiplied by the race time to determine the final ranking. The winner of the race, which could well reveal some surprises, will be known tomorrow.