While the 2020 edition of La Solitaire du Figaro has just ended with the victory of Armel Le Cléac'h, OC Sport Pen Duick, organizing company of the event, and the Loire-Atlantique department today announce the signing of a major partnership which will bind them for the next 6 years. From 2021 until 2026, all major departures and all final arrivals of the quinquagenarian event will take place in one of the department's ports. An unprecedented commitment in the 50-year history of the race which, for the first time, is permanently anchored in a territory while retaining the roaming which has always been part of its DNA.
24 hours after the curtain fell on the 50th anniversary edition of La Solitaire du Figaro, the venerable lady of ocean racing has found in the department of Loire-Atlantique a major partner for the six editions to come. Driven by a historic maritime heritage and a strong ambition, the department which has just hosted, in Saint-Nazaire, a breathtaking finale, has identified boating as one of the vectors of development of its territory. By permanently anchoring La Solitaire in its waters, the Loire-Atlantique department is today choosing to strengthen its central position in the French maritime landscape and the international nautical world. This historic partnership must not only lay the foundations of a powerful strategy to support the local policies of the department around boating and tourism on the coast, but also bring Loire-Atlantique into the fold alongside Les Sables d'Olonne, Saint- Malo, Le Havre or Brest in the closed circle of territories hosting major French offshore racing events. This commitment also gives organizers, shipowners, partners and sailors the visibility and anticipation necessary to ensure the sustainable growth of this monument of ocean racing.
Big departures and final arrivals in Loire-Atlantique
Since its creation in 1970, La Solitaire du Figaro has always established strong links with ports in France and abroad. But never before has it had the opportunity to lay down the lines of a solid and lasting history with the same territory. It is now a done deal with Loire-Atlantique which has become a major partner. A leading position that it will occupy alongside a future private title partner. From next year, and until 2026, the event will celebrate each major departure and will experience each outcome in one of the department's ports. Between these two Mariligère highlights, La Solitaire du Figaro will keep its itinerant character to allow it to spread widely across all of the Atlantic coasts, from the North Sea to the Bay of Biscay and to build, with the teams of the race direction, an open and demanding sporting event.
They said :
Philippe Grosvalet, President of the Loire-Atlantique Department :
“The Solitaire du Figaro, a famous one-design offshore race, is anchored in Loire-Atlantique for the next six years. The Department of Loire-Atlantique becomes its major partner.
From La Solitaire du Figaro legends are born, we will see them grow in Loire-Atlantique. A maritime land par excellence, Loire-Atlantique benefits from an exceptional location with its coastline open to the world. There is a real synergy here to develop maritime and nautical projects. A strong ambition supported by the Department with its partners.
From next year we will have the pleasure of hosting the big start and the finale of this great competition in Loire-Atlantique. The enthusiasm of the organizers and skippers speaks to the quality of our maritime and port infrastructures. A new page in ocean racing is being invented here.”
Hervé Favre, President of OC Sport Pen Duick:
“There is no great race without collaboration with great partners. The 2020 edition of La Solitaire du Figaro allowed us to build, with all the teams in the Loire-Atlantique region, a very strong relationship of trust, but also to share a vision validating the continuation of our common history. It is this joint work that made the success of this 2020 edition possible. It is also for these reasons that we plan to confidently work alongside Loire-Atlantique for years to come.
For us organizers, Loire-Atlantique is the territory which has all the qualities which allow a great race to continue its development and nourish its ambitions.”