While passing the Cape of Good Hope on January 1st, the Sodebo 3 trimaran still had a 570-mile lead over Idec Sport's progress during its conquest of the Jules Verne Trophy in 2017. An almost comfortable lead that nevertheless shrank by 80 miles in 24 hours.

Source of news Voile & Moteur

Was it due to a less sustained breeze? Somewhat. But mainly due to the performance of Idec Sport and the crew of Francis Joyon, who devoured the miles at a staggering pace at the entrance to the Roaring Forties after laboriously extricating themselves from the St. Helena anticyclone. And beware, Idec Sport maintained these dizzying averages of over 35 knots throughout its crossing of the Indian Ocean!

This means that there won't be much left to gain for Thomas Coville and his crew. Maintaining this lead of around 500 miles will already be a great feat on this leg of the round-the-world race where Joyon's crew was very fast.

It is nevertheless achievable by staying ahead of the front that is expected to form in the coming days in the wake of the Sodebo-colored Ultim, but it is a real challenge, much like the Jules Verne Trophy, which has held for seven years, perched on its infernal time! Accelerate, hold on, don't break... Until the end, these three words will be Thomas Coville's crew's mantra. But in the end, regardless of the gap with the ghost of Idec Sport: a mere mile ahead could be enough to win the trophy!

Meanwhile, while the crew racks up the miles, the media man Léo Legrand dares to send the drone into the breeze to capture incredible footage...