Benoît Tuduri of CAPSO en Cavale has made a formidable comeback on the third and final stage of the 54th La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec. Tuduri was denied the Stage 1 win due to a rookie rules transgression but has now made a late bid for glory, threatening long-time stage leader Elodie Bonafous of Quéguiner-La Vie en Rose. Tuduri and Jules Delpech of ORCOM were coming in with speed, having worked an inshore, easterly route down the Vendée coast past La Rochelle. Both were looking like they might get a share of the time bonuses for passing the Intermediate Sprint line buoy.
The fleet of 31 boats has been making solid progress under spinnaker today, allowing the exhausted solo skippers to grab some short catnaps to recharge their batteries. Despite this, the main peloton led by Bonafous remains very tightly packed, with less than five miles between the top ten and two miles separating the top five.
Basile Bourgnon of EDENRED still holds the advantage in the battle for overall top honours, but Tuduri's late surge has made the final leg worth watching. Bourgnon won Stage 2 and is directly in front of Corentin Horeau of Banque Populaire and Lois Berrehar of Skipper MACIF 2022 respectively. His main goal now will be to monitor Horeau's every move and cover him as much as possible on what should be a one-upwind leg 140 miles back to Piriac-sur-Mer on the French Loire Atlantique coast just west of La Baule.
Irish sailor Tom Dolan of Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan is also in a good position, currently in ninth place, and has a chance to make some gains as they converge on the mark, only six miles off the coast between Arcachon and the entrance to the Gironde Estuary.
As the race enters its final stages, the excitement is palpable, with Tuduri's comeback story adding a thrilling twist to the proceedings.
