A NORMAND WINNER FOR A JOURNEY ACROSS THE CHANNEL

Guillaume Pirouelle and Jules Ducelier on SOGESTRAN – SEAFRIGO, the big winners of the 17th edition of the CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE

By crossing the finish line in first place at the 17th CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE today at 4:20 PM in Ouistreham, Guillaume Pirouelle and Jules Ducelier have inscribed their names on the race trophy, which already bears some very distinguished names in the world of offshore racing. They also, following Fabien Delahaye and Pierre Leboucher in 2024 (LEGALLAIS), brought the trophy back to Normandy for only the second time in 17 years. It is hard to find words to describe these 3 days of racing — the shortest duration since the event's creation, but also the fastest edition. The incredible figure of 816 miles covered in 3 days, 2 hours and 20 minutes, at an average speed of 11 knots. A competition that was fiercely contested right up to its conclusion. The Norman crew took the lead on the leg between the Wolfrock lighthouse and the Portsall mark off the Côtes d'Armor coast, and never relinquished it until the finish. Finally, this edition was also an incredible journey through the English Channel, with a long list of breathtaking landscapes: the Normandy landing beaches, sunrise over the British Solent, the Cornish coastline all the way to Lizard Point, the rocky shores of the Côtes d'Armor, the Cap de la Hague in the Cotentin peninsula, and the cliffs of the Pays de Caux beyond Dieppe.

Guillaume Pirouelle adds another fine entry to his record with this victory at the CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE 2026, though his list of achievements was already impressive: winner of the Tour Voile in 2019, 2nd in the Solitaire in 2022, the Jules Verne Trophy round-the-world record broken this past winter aboard Sodebo with Thomas Coville, victory in the Transat Café l'Or last year, a solo win in the TRIN40 in April — the first event of this year's circuit. The experience gained last year with a second-place finish allowed him to claim the top step of the podium this year. A track record at just 32 years old that opens the door to many more major offshore adventures.

For Jules Ducelier, 29, this was a first participation in the race — a rather successful one, following a 4th place finish at the Solitaire in 2025 and a second place that same year in the French Solo Offshore Racing Championship. The new crew pairing (Cédric Chateau, who raced in 2025, gave way to rising talent) was able to draw on the experience of previous years.

The victory was not easily won given the quality of the 2026 fleet: smaller in numbers after the record-breaking 32 entries last year, but denser and more experienced among the 22 crews present, as evidenced by a significantly lower number of retirements (4 in total at the time of writing) than in 2025.

As for the podium, it was decided in the final minutes of the event, with a very strong squall passing over the finish area that reshuffled the cards. VSF SPORTS with Pep Costa and Pablo Santurde took a fine second place, 34 minutes after the winner, followed 6 minutes later in third place by Lucas Rosetti and Pierre Brasseur on MACCAFERRI FUTURA. CUSTOPOL, sailed by Axel Trehin and Antoine Carpentier after a superb race, had to settle for fourth place on this final roll of the dice.

The CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE will remain a demanding event — it is in its DNA — in a complex area where currents, commercial shipping traffic, and hazards of all kinds converge. But racing in this region, where offshore sailing was born, forges racing sailors and seafarers (men and women alike).

Results: https://www.class40.com/fr/courses/337-cic-normandy-channel-race.htm

Source: SIRIUS EVENEMENTS