‘Feet in the water, head on the winch. And all my heart in this project.’ These words from Yohan Bertrand, who is racing in the Class40 fleet, capture the mindset of the skippers taking part in the Route du Rhum.
The 13th edition of the Route du Rhum sets sail from Saint-Malo on Sunday 1 November 2026 at 1.02pm and finishes in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, after a 3,542-nautical-mile solo crossing of the Atlantic. It brings together 116 skippers across six classes: Ultim, IMOCA, Ocean Fifty, Class40, Vintage Mono and Vintage Multi. On the start line: a record holder on a brand-new trimaran, the first woman in the Ultim class, Britain's Sam Goodchild chasing IMOCA honours, and a 1988 ORMA trimaran crossing the Atlantic once more. From the flying giants of the Ultim class to the legendary trimarans of the Vintage category, here are the skippers set to shake up the race, and the stories that carry them all the way to Guadeloupe.
Summary
- 1. Ultim: a record to defend, a first to write
- 2. IMOCA: the Vendée Globe boats in search of a new title
- 3. Ocean Fifty: Hulin, Bourgnon, Legrand, the new generation takes the helm
- 4. Class40: 49 skippers, from professionals to amateurs, all driven by the same dream
- 5. Vintage: sailing legends return to the sea
Ultim: defending the record, making history
The Ultims are the giants of the Route du Rhum: 32-metre flying trimarans capable of exceeding 40 knots. On board, the skipper is alone. On shore, a technical team, weather routers and a major sponsor have been working for them for months. It works like a Formula 1 team.
Charles Caudrelier, the record holder returns
In 2022, on his very first attempt, Charles Caudrelier won the race in 6 days, 19 hours, 47 minutes and 25 seconds. In doing so, he beat the previous record, set by Francis Joyon in 2018 in 7 days, 14 hours and 21 minutes, by almost a full day. Four years on, the sailor returns with a double challenge: to beat his rivals and his own race record.
What's more, Charles Caudrelier is taking on this challenge aboard a brand-new boat: Gitana 18, the latest addition to the Edmond de Rothschild fleet. The Route du Rhum is this trimaran's first Atlantic crossing in race conditions. The skipper must therefore go for the win on a boat that has never yet been tested over such a long distance.
Le Cléac'h, Coville, Laperche… formidable competition
The title holder won't have the lead to himself. He faces formidable opponents: Armel Le Cléac'h on Maxi Banque Populaire XI, Tom Laperche on SVR-Lazartigue, Thomas Coville on Sodebo Ultim 3 and Anthony Marchand on Actual Ultim 4. All of them have a strong team behind them, and all of them dream of being first across the line in Pointe-à-Pitre.
Alexia Barrier, the first woman in the Ultim class
This edition will be a milestone in the race's history: Alexia Barrier will become the first woman to compete in the Ultim class of the Route du Rhum. The sailor has already left her mark on the sport: she set the first round-the-world record with an all-female crew in the Jules Verne Trophy.
She will set sail on IDEC Sport-CIC, a trimaran that knows the way to Guadeloupe better than any other: it has already won the race three times, in 2010, 2014 and 2018. Although slower than the latest-generation Ultims, it remains the most successful boat in the class. No woman has ever started the Route du Rhum on an Ultim before. But Alexia Barrier has made it clear: she is not racing just to be the first woman in the Ultim class. Up against more recent trimarans, she is aiming for a seven-day crossing and intends to give it her all right through to Pointe-à-Pitre.
IMOCA: the Vendée Globe boats in search of a new title
These 18.28-metre monohulls were designed for solo round-the-world racing. On the Route du Rhum, the IMOCAs find a shorter but just as demanding playing field.
Jérémie Beyou, the man to beat
Jérémie Beyou (Charal) goes into the race as a well-deserved favourite: he won the last Transat Café L'Or, the double-handed transatlantic race that finishes in Martinique.
Sam Goodchild, Britain's leading contender
Born in Bristol and based in Concarneau, Brittany, Sam Goodchild describes himself as a Breton at heart. At 36, he has raced almost every type of offshore boat: Class40, Figaro, Ultim, Ocean Fifty and IMOCA, both solo and with a crew. Before switching to IMOCAs, he won the Ocean Fifty circuit on Leyton, the trimaran now sailed by Baptiste Hulin as Viabilis Océans.
He finished ninth in his first Vendée Globe in 2024–25 on a previous-generation boat. Charlie Dalin, winner of that edition, then chose him to take over MACIF Santé Prévoyance, the Guillaume Verdier-designed IMOCA launched in 2022. The partnership has paid off quickly: third in the 2025 Transat Café L'Or, Sam Goodchild also won the 2025 Défi Azimut and Course des Caps, then the 1000 Race in 2026. His motto, ‘Better never stops’, fits a skipper who openly says he is proud to be one of the favourites.
Thomas Ruyant puts his title on the line on a brand-new boat
Winner in 2022 after a thrilling duel with Charlie Dalin, Thomas Ruyant holds the IMOCA class record of 11 days, 17 hours and 36 minutes. Like Charles Caudrelier in the Ultim class, he returns to defend his title on a new boat. It is a gamble: a new-generation IMOCA promises speed, but has yet to prove itself in a race. That is what casts the former winner as an outsider.
Violette Dorange, the Vendée Globe's breakout star, faces the Route du Rhum
She shot to fame during the 2024–25 Vendée Globe, which she completed at the age of 23. The videos she filmed on board reached an audience far beyond the sailing world. Violette Dorange is now taking on her first Route du Rhum.
She has taken the helm of Initiatives-Cœur, succeeding British sailor Samantha Davies. Sam Davies has not stepped away, however: she now supports her successor as coach and technical adviser.
Ocean Fifty: Hulin, Bourgnon, Legrand, the new generation takes the helm
On these 50-foot (15.24-metre) trimarans, the slightest mistake is punished immediately. In 2022, the win came down to a matter of minutes. This year, the class will have no defending champion: Erwan Le Roux, winner in 2014 and 2022, officially withdrew on 8 October due to a lack of funding. The way is clear for a new generation of skippers.
Basile Bourgnon, the man in form
At the end of September, Basile Bourgnon (Edenred) won the 24H Ultim, the last head-to-head between the Ocean Fifty boats before the start in Saint-Malo. In doing so, he retained his title and goes into the Route du Rhum full of confidence, as the skipper to beat.
Baptiste Hulin, from match racing to the big leap into solo sailing
On his official profile, Baptiste Hulin chose a line attributed to Mark Twain: ‘They didn't know it was impossible, so they did it.’ A motto that sums up the path of this sailor from Cholet, who moved from match racing (head-to-head duels between two identical boats) to offshore racing.
After two Transat Jacques Vabre races and a Route du Rhum in Class40, he joined the technical team of the Ocean Fifty Viabilis Océans, then took the helm in 2024. His progress has been rapid: in 2025, he won the Transat Café L'Or and the Ocean Fifty Series championship. At 29, this Route du Rhum will nevertheless open up a new dimension for him, as it is his first solo race.
Léonard Legrand, a serious contender
Third in the 24H Ultim, Léonard Legrand (Sodebo Fifty) also set the fastest time among the Ocean Fifty boats in the speed runs, the timed sprints held before the race. He has strong backing: Team Sodebo completely overhauled his trimaran, and Thomas Coville sailed alongside him on his first outings.
Class40: 49 skippers, from professionals to amateurs, all driven by the same dream
With 49 boats on the start line, Class40 is by far the largest fleet. Open to amateurs and professionals alike, it brings together a wide range of profiles. With Yoann Richomme, two-time class winner, absent this year, the race is wide open.
Guillaume Pirouelle and Corentin Douguet, the favourites
Their success over the past two seasons puts Guillaume Pirouelle (Sogestran Seafrigo) and Corentin Douguet (SNSM, Faites un don !) at the top of the predictions. At 31, Guillaume Pirouelle has a strong record: runner-up in the Solitaire du Figaro in 2022, he won the 40 Malouine and the Transat Café L'Or in 2025, then the Trin'40 and the CIC Normandy Channel Race this season.
Behind them, a generation of under-30s hopes to shake up the established order, including Timothé Polet (Team Zeiss), Pep Costa (VSF Sport) and Théa Khelif (Women of Course). More experienced skippers such as Fabien Delahaye and Quentin Le Nabour are also among the outsiders.
Vincent Riou, a Vendée Globe winner in Class40
Winner of the 2004–05 Vendée Globe in the IMOCA class, Vincent Riou is racing in Class40 this time, aboard Pierreval-Fondation GoodPlanet. For him, the Route du Rhum is still the most beautiful of the transatlantic races. He even compares it to the Olympic Games for Class40 skippers, given how much it counts in a career.
Ian Lipinski, the engineer turned sailor who reinvented the Class40
Born in Paris in 1981 and a graduate of the Supaéro aerospace engineering school, Ian Lipinski could have built a career in aeronautics. But after working as an instructor at the Glénans sailing school and spending a lot of time cruising with his wife, he chose a life on the water. Two Mini Transat wins later, he has become one of the leading names in Class40.
He has left a lasting mark on the class: together with naval architect David Raison, he co-designed a Class40 with a rounded bow, known as a ‘scow’, which has inspired the entire fleet. He also has a score to settle on this Route du Rhum. In 2022, technical problems at the worst possible moment pushed him down to 13th place, in an edition so tough that 17 of the 55 Class40 entries had to retire.
Vintage: sailing legends return to the sea
For this edition, the Rhum Mono and Rhum Multi categories become Vintage Mono and Vintage Multi. The idea is to put the spotlight back on the boats and sailors who wrote the history of offshore racing, while giving existing yachts a second life. These two categories bring together 26 skippers.
Joyon and Le Cam, the legends are back
Winner of the Route du Rhum in 2018, Francis Joyon held the race record until Charles Caudrelier broke it in 2022. He returns in Vintage Multi aboard Pour les océans, convinced that a lower-impact, ocean-friendly way of sailing is possible. Among the monohulls, Jean Le Cam, a six-time Vendée Globe starter, lines up in Vintage Mono aboard Alegria.
Gilles Lamiré, from the Caribbean to his sixth Route du Rhum
Originally from Lamballe in Brittany, Gilles Lamiré spent some fifteen years sailing the seas on all kinds of boats, from luxury yachts to multihulls, particularly in the Caribbean. In 2006, he devoted himself fully to offshore racing. Since then, the Route du Rhum has served him well: third in 2014 and fourth in 2018, he also won the 2019 Transat Jacques Vabre with Antoine Carpentier.
On his sixth start, he will sail Groupe GCA, an ORMA trimaran (from the former 60-foot multihull racing circuit) launched in 1988. His motto is short and sweet: ‘It'll be fine!’
Florian Gueguen, sailing for a cause
Saint-Malo native Florian Gueguen already knows the Route du Rhum well, having raced it in 2018 and 2022 in Class40. This time, he is taking on the best in the Vintage Multi category, aboard a 50-foot trimaran designed by Nigel Irens in 1987.
His boat carries the colours of Graine de Courage, a charity that raises funds for the fight against Parkinson's disease. For Florian Gueguen, an adventure only makes sense if it carries human values and a sense of solidarity.
Sources
Route du Rhum: An exceptional lineup for the most challenging edition in history
Route du Rhum: The crowning of ‘Vintage’, when the legend becomes lasting
Route du Rhum: Baptiste Hulin's skipper profile
Route du Rhum: Sam Goodchild's skipper profile
Route du Rhum: Ian Lipinski's skipper profile
Le Figaro Nautisme: Route du Rhum 2026 : le grand départ donné le 1er novembre 2026 à Saint-Malo
Le Figaro Nautisme: 24H Ultim : Tom Laperche et Basile Bourgnon conservent leur titre
Le Figaro Nautisme: Une nouvelle génération de skippers prête à bousculer les favoris
Bateaux.com: Route du Rhum 2026 : la liste complète des 118 skippers engagés par classe
Bateaux.com: Première femme en Ultim sur la Route du Rhum 2026, les enjeux du défi d'Alexia Barrier
Bateaux.com: Route du Rhum 2026 : Erwan Le Roux contraint de renoncer faute de budget
Cover: ©Vincent Olivaud
