The Solitaire Le Figaro

The Solitaire du Figaro, formerly known as the “Course de l’Aurore”, was created in 1970 at the initiative of the newspaper The Dawn, before being sponsored by the daily newspaper Le Figaro in 1979. In its early days, this solo race consisted of several stages along the French coast, testing the endurance and strategy of the sailors. Since then, it has become one of the most iconic competitions in the world of sailing, attracting the best skippers of each generation.

News from the Solitaire du Figaro

An evolution marked by innovations

Over the decades, The Solitaire du Figaro has evolved, becoming an essential event for young talents and experienced sailors alike.The stages, once exclusively in France, have gradually included international stopovers (Ireland, Spain, Portugal). This unique format, blending high-level competition with proximity to the coast, allows the public to closely follow the skippers, while offering a complex sailing challenge where the slightest strategic error can be decisive.

Evolving boats at the heart of the competition

Since its creation, Different types of boats were used for this race, always with the objective of standardizing equipment to guarantee sporting fairness. In the 1970s, the competition took place on production boatsbefore the arrival of the Figaro Bénéteau in 1991, which marked the beginning of a new era. This one-design boat leveled the playing field, thus emphasizing the technical and tactical skills of the skippers. Since 2019, sailors have been competing aboard the Figaro Bénéteau 3, first foiling monohull used in racing, offering increased performance and a new dynamic to the competition.

The big names of the Solitaire

Over the years, the Solitaire du Figaro has crowned skippers who have become sailing legends. The first winner of the race, Jean-Michel Barrault, paved the way for many exceptional navigators. Michel Desjoyeaux, three-time winner (1992, 1998, 2007), remains one of the most decorated sailors. Armel Le Cléac’h, also a three-time winner, is another big name associated with the race. The competition has also served as a springboard for young talents, including François Gabart And Yann Eliès, who both shone in this event before successfully embarking on other offshore races.

A race of endurance and precision

The Solitaire du Figaro is an unmissable event on the offshore racing calendar.Known for its difficulty and intensity, it demands unwavering concentration from sailors over several weeks. Small mistakes are costly in this race where every second counts. With over 50 years of history, this race has remained true to its original spirit while evolving with new technologies and generations of skippers.

History of the Solitaire du Figaro

Year	Winner	Second	Third	First rookie
one thousand nine hundred seventy	Joan de Kat	Michel Malinovsky	Pierre Bonnet
one thousand nine hundred seventy-one	Michel Malinovsky	Pierre Bonnet	Yves Deborde
one thousand nine hundred seventy-two	Jean-Marie Vidal	Michael Girard	Michel Malinovsky
one thousand nine hundred seventy-three	Gilles Le Baud	Dominique Lunven	Eugène Riguidel
one thousand nine hundred seventy-four	Eugène Riguidel	Bruno Lunven	Bernard Pallard
one thousand nine hundred seventy-five	Guy Cornou	Gilles Gahinet	Bruno Lunven
one thousand nine hundred seventy-six	Guy Cornou	Bernard Pallard	Gilles Gahinet
one thousand nine hundred seventy-seven	Gilles Gahinet	Patrick Morvan	Michel Malinovsky
one thousand nine hundred seventy-eight	Gilles Le Baud	Patrick Eliès	Patrick Morvan	Hervé Papin
one thousand nine hundred seventy-nine	Patrick Eliès	Olivier Moussy	Gilles Gahinet
one thousand nine hundred eighty	Gilles Gahinet	Patrick Morvan	Philippe Poupon
one thousand nine hundred eighty-one	Sylvain Rosier	Jean-François Fountaine	Gilles Gahinet
one thousand nine hundred eighty-two	Philippe Poupon	Gilles Gahinet	Hervé Papin
one thousand nine hundred eighty-three	Lionel Péan	Philippe Poupon	Damien Savatier
one thousand nine hundred eighty-four	Christophe Cudennec	Damien Savatier	Géry Trentesaux
one thousand nine hundred eighty-five	Philippe Poupon	Jean Le Cam	Christophe Cudennec
one thousand nine hundred eighty-six	Christophe Auguin	Pascal Leys	Patrick Eliès
one thousand nine hundred eighty-seven	Jean-Marie Vidal	Francois Lamiot	Antoine Lebec
one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight	Laurent Bourgnon	Alain Gautier	Antoine Lebec	Laurent Bourgnon
one thousand nine hundred eighty-nine	Alain Gautier	Halvard Mabire	Laurent Cordelle
one thousand nine hundred ninety	Laurent Cordelle	Dominique Wavre	Halvard Mabire
one thousand nine hundred ninety-one	Yves Parlier	Michel Desjoyeaux	Francois Lamiot
one thousand nine hundred ninety-two	Michel Desjoyeaux	Jean Le Cam	Damien Savatier
one thousand nine hundred ninety-three	Dominic Vittet	Jean Le Cam	Roland Jourdain
one thousand nine hundred ninety-four	Jean Le Cam	Hervé De Kergariou	Roland Jourdain
one thousand nine hundred ninety-five	Philippe Poupon	Philip Vicario	Jean Le Cam	Marc Lepesqueux
one thousand nine hundred ninety-six	Jean Le Cam	Michel Desjoyeaux	Hervé de Kergariou	Christophe Lebas
one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven	Franck Cammas	Dominique Wavre	Marc Guessard
one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight	Michel Desjoyeaux	Eric Drouglazet	Jean Le Cam	Thomas Coville
one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine	Jean Le Cam	Eric Drouglazet	Gildas Morvan	Charles Caudrelier
two thousand	Pascal Bidégorry	Armel Le Cléac’h	Gildas Morvan	Armel Le Cléac’h
two thousand one	Eric Drouglazet	Sébastien Josse	Gildas Morvan	Benoît Petit
two thousand two	Kito de Pavant	Gilles Chiorri	Charles Caudrelier	Gwenaël Riou
two thousand three	Armel Le Cléac’h	Alain Gautier	Michel Desjoyeaux	Marc Emig
two thousand four	Charles Caudrelier	Yann Eliès	Jérémie Beyou	Jean-Luc Nélias
two thousand five	Jérémie Beyou	Michel Desjoyeaux	Kito de Pavant	Pietro d’Ali
two thousand six	Nicolas Troussel	Thierry Chabagny	Gérald Véniard	Christopher Pratt
two thousand seven	Michel Desjoyeaux	Frédéric Duthil	Corentin Douguet	Nicolas Lunven
two thousand eight	Nicolas Troussel	Gildas Morvan	Frédéric Duthil	François Gabart
two thousand nine	Nicolas Lunven	Yann Eliès	Frédéric Duthil	Fabien Delahaye
two thousand ten	Armel Le Cléac’h	François Gabart	Corentin Douguet	Anthony Marchand
two thousand eleven	Jérémie Beyou	Fabien Delahaye	Erwan Tabarly	Morgan Lagravière
two thousand twelve	Yann Eliès	Morgan Lagravière	Nicolas Lunven	Thomas Normand
two thousand thirteen	Yann Eliès	Xavier Macaire	Morgan Lagravière	Jack Boutell
two thousand fourteen	Jérémie Beyou	Corentin Horeau	Charlie Dalin	Gwénolé Gahinet
two thousand fifteen	Yann Eliès	Charlie Dalin	Xavier Macaire	Robin Elsey
two thousand sixteen	Yoann Richomme	Charlie Dalin	Nicolas Lunven	Will Harris
two thousand seventeen	Nicolas Lunven	Adrien Hardy	Charlie Dalin	Julien Pulvé
two thousand eighteen	Sébastien Simon	Anthony Marchand	Charlie Dalin	Thomas Cardrin
two thousand nineteen	Yoann Richomme	Gildas Mahé	Anthony Marchand	Benjamin Schwartz
two thousand twenty	Armel Le Cléac’h	Frédéric Duthil	Tom Laperche	Kevin Bloch
two thousand twenty-one	Pierre Quiroga	Xavier Macaire	Tom Laperche	Gaston Morvan
two thousand twenty-two	Tom Laperche	Guillaume Pirouelle	Achille Nebout	Guillaume Pirouelle
two thousand twenty-three	Corentin Horeau	Basile Bourgnon	Lois Berrehar	Victor The Pope
two thousand twenty-four	Tom Dolan	Lois Berrehar	Gaston Morvan	Arno Biston