Fuente info Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe
06 April 2022
138 solo sailors will compete on the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe 2022 !
The 2022 edition of La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe sees the legendary solo Transatlantic race reach the age of 44 years old. It is long since established itself as THE most popular and well known solo transoceanic race in the world. And with 138 solo racers signed up to compete in the Autumn of this year this edition looks set to add another exciting volume in the colourful history of a race which has been run every four years since 1978.
On Sunday November 6 the huge fleet will set off from Saint Malo on the 3,542 nautical miles passage to Guadeloupe. The initial registration limit was set at 120 skippers but, since July 2021 when they opened, such has been the demand for entries that a further 18 wild card entries have been accepted. The 2022 edition is already a record breaker.
In France on the back of the massive success of the last Vendée Globe La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe has already been described as ‘the’ major sports event of 2022 and this huge, record entry firmly endorses this assertion. Since 1978’s inaugural edition when there were 38 entries never have there been so many entries. With 149 applications in total the organisers will allocate those 18 wild cards before the end of April.
The organisers and the city have worked hard and smart over recent months to find pragmatic, practical solutions to accommodate as many skippers, boats and teams as possible bearing and to maintain the broad mix of competitors at approximately half professional and half semi pro or amateurs. And as usual, the leading lights of world solo ocean racing will start on the very same start line as the adventurers and amateurs, all with their courses set for Guadeloupe.
Fans, headliners and defending champions
The line up will certainly included defending champions such as Francis Joyon (Idec Sport) in the Ultime fleet, Paul Meilhat (Biotherm) in the IMOCA, Armel Tripon (Les P’tits Doudous) in the Ocean Fifty and Yoann Richomme (Paprec – Arkea) is back to defend his Class40 title.
Meanwhile until the wild cards are actually allocated the number of contenders in each class are not known apart from the Ocean Fiftys which will have eight skippers competing.
The 138 competitors selected to make up the 2022 field will still have to complete all the formalities imposed by the Notice of Race (qualification course, participation in the other races of the season, rules and measurement checks for new boats, etc.) to fully validate their presence on the race pontoons in Saint Malo from October 25.
Find the list of sailors whose registration request has been validated here
They said :
Hervé Favre, President of OC Sport Pen Duick : “ We are pleased to announce this initial list of 120 solo sailors who have made it into La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe the major event of their season and for some the dream of a lifetime. For an organisation like us we are really proud that the race has got more and more appealing and interesting each edition for 44 years. The list that we are making official today responds perfectly to what was written in the notice of race last summer. But the number of applications received in recent months has prompted us to look for a solution to welcome even more sailors and allow them to take part in the most famous of the solo transatlantic races, while respecting our commitment to bring everyone into the basins in Saint-Malo. We are going to open up to 18 additional competitors by granting them wild cards and thus increase the number of registered entries to 138, a record figure for a solo race which would make the event a little more historic ”.
*OC Sport Pen Duick has until the end of April 2022 to decide on the admission of giant trimarans within a class (such as the Ocean Fifty, the Imoca and the Class40) or a category (such as the Rhum Multi and Mono Rhums).
About…
OC Sport Pen Duick
OC Sport is an international sports marketing and events group specialising in professional sailing and outdoor sports (cycling, running and trail running).
With offices in Switzerland and France, and with a staff of around thirty, our teams are involved in the entire value chain of events and sports marketing through an annual calendar of events.
OC Sport Pen Duick is the French subsidiary of OC Sport and is focused on ocean racing. While Pen Duick was created to manage the sporting campaigns of Eric Tabarly, OC Sport was established to manage Dame Ellen Macarthur’s sailing career – both emblematic figures of international sport. Today, OC Sport Pen Duick faithfully preserves the spirit and values that these founding pioneers embodied: to live and share unique experiences with the public, athletes, and partners.
OC Sport Pen Duick has developed a unique expertise in professional sailing, drawing on its dual know-how in team management (Vendée Globe projects, Volvo Ocean Race) and the organisation of the most prestigious races (Extreme Sailing Series, Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe, The Transat CIC, Solitaire du Figaro, Concarneau-Saint-Barthélémy double-handed transatlantic race, Ultim Round the World Race).
OC Sport is a subsidiary of the Télégramme Group.
The Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe
Created in 1978 by Michel Etevenon, La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe is regarded as the queen of solo transatlantic races. For 44 years, the race has joined Saint-Malo in Brittany to Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe. It musters the biggest fleet ocean racing fleet of all levels on the same starting line. This transatlantic course at a tota distance of 3542 miles has become legendary as its unique magic is all about the range of different classes and the mix of competitors. Some of the best solo racers in the world of sailing, professionals and amateurs, meet every 4 years to taste “the magic of the Rhum”.
On November 6 2022, this legendary race will set off once again, taking on the Atlantic whilst appealing to a broad mass of public fans and followers. They are offered the chance to dream, to escape and share the wonder at the solo racers who are all ready to go to sea and challenge the Autumn Atlantic.
