Overview
- Tom Laperche won the 13th Route du Rhum and set a new overall course record of 6 days 13 hours 27 minutes and 40 seconds, a time confirmed in coverage published on Sunday.
- Laperche sailed the Ultim SVR‑Lazartigue in his first Route du Rhum and kept the lead from early in the race to the finish in Pointe‑à‑Pitre.
- Several pre‑race favourites retired after major technical failures, most notably Charles Caudrelier who abandoned after a serious foil failure, reshaping the contest and clearing the path for challengers.
- Thomas Coville finished second about 15 hours later despite losing foils and a headsail during the crossing, and race reports record Laperche’s peak speed at about 48.9 knots.
- The organizer awarded Laperche a reported €85,000 prize, a sum that coverage noted falls short of typical campaign costs, and the result underlines both accelerating Ultim speeds and the financial and technical demands of campaigning these boats.