CONQUERING THE SOLO FIGARO

La Solitaire Urgo Le Figaro To Set Off For Leg 1

The main event for the Figaro skippers in this 2019 season is fast approaching. La Solitaire – Urgo Le Figaro will set off on Sunday 2nd June from Nantes with the first leg to Kinsale in Ireland, before returning to Roscoff and Dieppe over the next three legs. 47 skippers aboard their new Beneteau Figaro 3 hydrofoils will be in the starting blocks hoping to win this 50th edition, and a third of the fleet are fully equipped with North Sails. The Solitaire is considered to be a challenging and demanding competition on every level, psychologically, physically and tactically. Tenacity, surpassing oneself, rigor and vigilance are some of the skills to be used during this prestigious solo event on the Figaro circuit. This year, the challenge is all the more daunting with a plethora of decorated solo specialists who have already won the event, such as Armel Le Cléac’h, who has just won the Solo Concarneau, Jérémie Beyou, Yann Éliès, Alain Gautier and Michel Desjoyeaux.

The first edition of the Solitaire du Figaro was launched in 1970 and was then called l’Aurore (Dawn), organized by the French newspaper of the same name. In 1980, the Le Figaro newspaper bought the rights to the event and renamed the competition. For many sailors who are waiting for their future offshore racing boat to come out of the yard, this Solitaire represents an opportunity to continue racing at a high level on a one-design boat and to develop confidence and performance. The challenge for the entire fleet remains to master this new generation of foiling.