CIC Normandy Channel Race Preview: 15 years and a trophy as coveted as ever

CIC Normandy Channel Race 2023 © Jean-Marie LIOT Images

Sunday 15 September will herald the start in Caen / Ouistreham of the 15th edition of the CIC Normandy Channel Race.

Though the past 3 years have seen entry numbers soar at around thirty or more, this year a hectic 2024 transatlantic circuit has resulted in a few of the Class40s suffering damage. Despite this, some 25 competitors will still be taking the start of the event in what is the biggest line-up of the season for Class40. Furthermore, to match up to the ever-increasing competitive appeal of the event, there will be a real breakthrough in terms of audience figures with LA CHAINE L'ÉQUIPE debuting live coverage of the start right across France.

The most coveted Trophy of the Class40 season?

Such is the opinion of Italian skipper Alberto Bona (IBSA), 2023 Class40 champion: "The Normandy is a very tough race with a format that is midway between a sprint and a marathon. With 2 Channel crossings, passages with some of the strongest currents in the world, legendary islets like Tuskar and Fastnet, plus September weather which may make things even more complicated, it has all the elements of a great classic, the reward for which is the most coveted trophy of the Class40 season." Alberto Bona has generously invited aboard his compatriot Alberto Riva, skipper of ACROBATICA, who beat Class40's 24-hour record this spring after covering a whopping 433.5 miles, before he sadly lost his boat in the last transatlantic race.

Xavier Macaire (GROUPE SNEF), the recent winner on the Atlantic race is also well aware of the difficulties of this event: "The CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE boasts a very high standard of racing and it's very interesting on a sporting level with some very tough competition."

Axel Trehin (PROJECT RESCUE OCEAN) meantime reminds us that "it's always a massive pleasure to head over to Caen each year to compete in this unmissable Class40 meet." He'd obviously like to round off his adventure with his current Class40 as he began it back in 2021, namely with a victory.

Naming an event favourite is always a very risky exercise given the number of pretenders to victory and the many twists and turns that typically colour this race. Ian Lipinski (CREDIT MUTUEL), a former winner, will be trialling his brand-new Raison design with Antoine Carpentier, whilst Fabien Delahaye (LEGALLAIS), 3rd and 2nd in the last two transatlantic races, would clearly like to get his hands on the number 1 spot for the first time in this event. Vincent Riou, a past winner of the Vendée Globe (PIERREVAL FONDATION GOOD PLANET), will be keen to show his brand-new craft in a good light; while Erwan Le Draoulec (EVERIAL), former winner of the Mini Transat, will be focused on posting a dazzling performance in his first participation.

Alongside these professionals, the majority of whom will be racing Scow bows, a number of amateurs will have free rein of the Sharp bows for this race. These include Alexandre Le Gallais (TRIM CONTROL), Louis Mayaud / Alexandre Bellangé (BELCO), as well as Thomas LURTON (OSE TA VICTOIRE)

Finally, 3 crews signed up for the GLOBE40 will be joining the fray in a bid to hone their weapons before their epic adventure in 2025 (Richard Palmer with JANGADA RACING, Nicolas Guibal on esatco and Thibault Lefevere on FREEDOM).

The presentation file for each crew can be viewed on the website: normandy-race.com/en/crews

A breakthrough with a new France-wide media audience

On Sunday 15 September, LA CHAINE L'EQUIPE will provide live hour-long coverage of the start from 13:00 to 14:00 hours local time. France's leading free sports channel, LA CHAINE L'ÉQUIPE boasts some 6.6-million TV viewers each day. This will be a first for an exclusive Class40 event. Set up with the support of the CIC, this device will be accompanied by some new means mobilised within the context of the video production and piloted by IMAGES IN FRANCE, which will feature a helicopter, a production bus and a satellite bus in position in Ouistreham.

The live coverage of the start will be accompanied by the usual daily reporting device, the CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE minute, featured on the channel from Saturday 14 to Sunday 22 September. The Minute report will also be broadcast on the L'ÉQUIPE.FR website, which boasted 442-million pages views back in July (source ACPM).

This device will complement FRANCE 3 NORMANDIE's usual commitment to the race with the FRANCE 3 CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE Minute over the course of the 12-day event from Wednesday 11 to Sunday 22 September. The start will also be broadcast live on FRANCE 3's digital networks.