Defending Route du Rhum champion Charles Caudrelier faces a very different challenge when he lines up for Sunday's solo transatlantic race from Saint-Malo, with his new Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, Gitana 18, making her competitive debut.
The 52-year-old French skipper won the 2022 Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe in a record six days, 19 hours, 47 minutes and 25 seconds aboard Gitana 17. Four years on, he has a more radical 32-metre foiling trimaran but far less time sailing her than he had with her predecessor.
An Irish connection marks his preparations: in September, Caudrelier completed a 1,200-mile solo qualifying passage north of Ireland, spending more than 48 hours at sea aboard the new boat.
A different kind of title defence
“In 2022, I went into the race as favourite. My boat was ahead of the game,” Caudrelier said. “I knew her settings down to the last ten centimetres. I felt I had the edge over my rivals in every respect, even though it was my first Route du Rhum.”
This year, he says, experience is on his side, but the boat remains an unknown quantity. “I know she's fast, but she's not yet performing at 100% of her potential. I'm going to discover new things and encounter conditions I haven't sailed her in before, so I'll have to adapt.”
“Even if I'm not the favourite, we're going to do everything we can to fight for the win, whatever happens.”
Team Effort – Charles Caudrelier celebrates with his Gitana teammates, whose technical expertise and collective experience he credits as central to his offshore racing success. The defending Route du Rhum champion says their support will be crucial as he takes the unproven Gitana 18 into the 2026 race. Photo: E. Stichelbaut
New trimaran's first race
Launched in Lorient on 14 February, Gitana 18 represents a new stage in the team's foiling development. The trimaran completed her first stable foiling runs in May, but Sunday's start will provide her first direct race comparison with rival Ultims.
Caudrelier's offshore record includes two Volvo Ocean Race victories, the Solitaire du Figaro, the Rolex Fastnet Race, the Transat Jacques Vabre and the 2024 Arkéa Ultim Challenge–Brest solo round-the-world race.
He credits much of his success to the team behind the boat. “As in Formula 1, a sport I often like to draw comparisons with, even the best driver is nothing without the best car and the best team.”
“My job is to turn all that work into results on the racecourse. It's a huge responsibility.”
Full Flight – The new Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, Gitana 18, powers through Atlantic seas ahead of its first competitive outing in the Route du Rhum, where defending champion Charles Caudrelier faces the challenge of unlocking the giant trimaran's full potential. Photo: Y. Riou
Irish interest in Saint-Malo
Caudrelier is among the Ultim contenders in the fleet assembling for the 1 November start. Ireland's Pamela Lee is also preparing for her first Route du Rhum, racing in the Class40 division. The Saint-Malo race village opened last week, with organisers reporting 115 solo skippers across the event.
For Caudrelier, the immediate task is to turn the promise of Gitana 18 into a result in what he describes as “the race closest to my heart”.
