Organisers of the Vendée Globe have released the Notice of Race for the transatlantic New York Vendée–Les Sables d’Olonne in May 2024.

Last held in 2016 with 14 IMOCAs, this second edition will be the first organised by the Vendée Globe team itself. Set to start off in New York on 29 May 2024, it’s already shaping up to be a major event with 40 skippers expected to line up, and will be decisive for the next Vendée Globe in several respects.

Moreover, considering the lightning technological development of Vendée Globe boats in recent years, the race’s current record time set by Jérémie Beyou in 2016 — nine days, 16 hours, 57 minutes and 52 seconds — looks set to be smashed.

Taking place just a few months before the Vendée Globe, this final confrontation will be an opportunity to determine the strongest contenders for the next solo, non-stop, non-assisted round-the-world race. It is the ultimate opportunity for the favourites to assert their power.

Before setting off on this demanding 3,200-mile course, the sailors will treat the New York public to a great show in Manhattan Bay, organised on 24 May 2024 at the foot of the Statue of Liberty. The so-called ‘Liberty Race’ promises breathtaking images.

This Atlantic crossing will be the last qualifying race for the 2024 Vendée Globe. To qualify, skippers must take part in two qualifying races: one in 2022 or 2023 and one in 2024. They must finish one of them in a time that cannot exceed the winner’s time plus 50%. That’s why taking part in this race is a real challenge for future Vendée Globe competitors.

The New York Vendée–Les Sables d’Olonne is also the last race in which the skippers clock up miles for their selection in the Vendée Globe, if more than 40 of them qualify. To underline its importance, the organisers have given it a special feature: for every mile sailed, the sailors will clock up 1.5 miles. So this transatlantic race counts for more than any other selection race.

After crossing the Atlantic and heading up the legendary channel in Les Sables d'Olonne, 40 competitors will pick up their precious pass: the entry ticket to the next Vendée Globe.

It’s a unique moment for the teams, the sponsors and the sailors, for whom this round the world represents the achievement of a four-year project and, for many of them, the dream of a lifetime. Sharing and emotion will be the watchwords of these finishes, which will serve as a dress rehearsal for those of the Vendée Globe in 2025.

Organisers say they look forward to seeing everyone on 9 June 2024 for the prize-giving ceremony, which will be held on the Vendée Globe esplanade in Les Sables d’Olonne.

Alain Leboeuf, president of the New York Vendée–Les Sables d’Olonne, of the Vendée Globe and the Département de la Vendée said at the launch on Thursday (6 July): “We are very proud to be organising the New York Vendée–Les Sables d’Olonne. This race is particularly important as it is the last qualifying and selection race for the Vendée Globe.”