FR
EN
Morgan Lagravière: “Really it is a different story every time, a different adventure. I don't know if there are any comparable things, except for sailing, but each time course has its own little specificities, the partnership too, because it's true that this is the first time with Jérémie, and it's the beginning of a new story, so it's great to be able to experience this together, to bring this to this team that has been one win away from one of the major classics for a long time. So I'm really happy to have been able to participate in this with this whole team, all this great energy around this amazing boat. But this is an emotional time, time to enjoy it.”
Jéremie Beyou: “We were really in the zone, actually. It's true that Morgan has racked up three wins back-to-back. But we weren't really in the zone at all. Before the start, we were really focused on this race. We thought we had a little angle, a little potential to exploit, a win to go for. We stayed focused on our own thing, and calm, and we ran smoothly, and we had a clean race, I think. And so, it was really a blast from start to finish.” .
“It has been a long time since I'd won on a Café L'Or, a Jacques Vabre, and I've been close for a while, but knowing it would come back, that it was there to be done, but everything had to fall into place. You needed the right boat, one that had improved significantly since last year, you needed the right teammate, you need perfect preparation, you had to make zero mistakes, and it happened. So I never gave up hope. I knew I could do it, within the team, and Charala and I never gave up. And this one is truly beautiful.”
“At the Canaries It was a fresh start, it was a bit tough for us because mentally we'd been pretty much at the front since the beginning of the race, and then we lost almost 30 miles to the competition at that point. But we also knew we had what it takes to perform well downwind and in the trade winds. So, in the end, that reassured us. We'd worked hard on those points of sail and we knew we had what it took to at least compete, or be even better than the others. And clearly, we weren't wrong. So, there you have it.”
Lagravière, when asked what is his secret? I don't know. I'd say... I don't know. Just being true to myself, trying to stay as close as possible to my values and personality. I think we learned a lot along the way. I brought the previous editions with me. We're only here for a short time, so we might as well have fun. And yes, I definitely wouldn't have gone with just anyone. Jérémy and I knew we got along well, we knew we complemented each other, and that's super important. We knew we had all the technical, interpersonal, mental, and other skills to perform well. When we signed up for this race, it wasn't to finish second, that's for sure.”
Jérémie Beyou: “Those who know, know. It's true that things don't always go as smoothly. Even with three consecutive victories, there are times that are less easy, times of doubt, times of rebuilding. These projects and victories aren't built overnight, and sometimes you have to adapt, change things to make it work. But in any case, I keep that same desire to do well and enjoy what I do. I've always been motivated by the idea of getting back on the water, by the idea of competing, and I think that's ingrained in me and will never change. Especially when you have someone by your side who shares the same mindset, saying that we're here to experience it and do our best. And then, in a way, if it doesn't work out, it won't change our lives. Our families will always be there, and life will go on. But we still love that adrenaline rush of making boats go fast and pursuing victory. And it's true that when you do it the right way, the right way this time, it feels clean. It's pretty cool. But in saying that the Vendée Globe is a race apart, it's really a different way of doing things, a different mindset, a different level of commitment, it's not comparable to this. The Transat Café L'Or is a great classic, and I'd wanted to do well for a long time, to win it again.”
Jérémie Beyou: “I felt that in the first third of the trade winds, where we started to create a bit of a gap, the gap stabilized for a while, and we couldn't keep up. I think there was about a 30-mile gap with Macif and then 11th Hour. But despite everything, we really stayed focused, we really gave it our all. And then, in fact, at that point, we managed to rebuild the gap quite significantly. And often, as a cyclist, you know when someone gets back on your wheel and you accelerate again, but it hurts mentally. But I feel like we hurt them by being able to put the extra effort in at a time when they felt they could compete with us. And I think that's when we shifted into a mode where we told ourselves it was our race to win.
Jérémie Beyou: “This was a race where the competition kept coming from behind, a rather elastic race. When I said we thought we had a sweet spot, an angle with this boat, it's because we really put everything into that angle, meaning we thought we had an advantage by putting everything in our favor. The boat can go fast downwind in medium winds and that means, for example, upwind, we didn't necessarily have the right sails, and in the ridges, each time, we got caught and then twisted a bit. So, those were difficult times, but we knew we had to go through it, because we had made those choices, so that later on we might have the opportunity to show that we had made the right ones. And precisely at Cape Finisterre, we already had a short stretch of skirting the low-pressure system, we had a short downwind run, where we realized that we had that speed advantage, that it was really real, and that if we stayed at the front, attacking the trade winds, there was a really good angle for victory.