Ireland's Tom Dolan Drops to 19th After Two Stages of La Solitaire du Figaro

8th September 2023

Tom Dolan is down but not out after a 'brutal', light winds stage from Kinsale to Roscoff in the La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec race Credit: Alexis Courcoux

Irish skipper Tom Dolan's performance was a mixed bag in the first two legs of the 54th La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec race. He emerged victorious in the first leg, but encountered a challenging time in the second leg due to the brutal light winds. Dolan struggled significantly in the final four miles of the leg from Kinsale to Roscoff, taking more than 12 hours to cover that distance.

This resulted in him dropping from the top spot to the 19th position overall. Dolan completed the leg in 20th place at 09:27hrs this morning, 15 hours and 13 minutes after the current race leader Basile Bourgnon. Dolan was one of the many sailors who faced difficulties in making progress in the race's final miles due to the lack of wind and a strong current against them.

Despite the setback, Dolan remains optimistic and pragmatic. He believes that he did not commit any significant errors but merely faced unfortunate circumstances. He felt fatigued and hungry after the long and arduous leg. Dolan is now ready to compete for a second podium position during the final stage from Roscoff to Priac, sailing across the Bay of Biscay and back.

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The 33-year-old who has lived in Concarneau, Brittany since 2009 but grew up on a farm in rural County Meath came into the gruelling four-stage race aiming to get into the top half of the fleet and to underline his potential to Irish sailing administrators considering the selection process for the 2024 Olympic Mixed Double Offshore category which comes in for the Paris games.