The Italian challenge Luna Rossa during its regatta against Team New Zealand, during the America’s Cup, March 16, 2021. GILLES MARTIN-RAGET / AFP
The French challenge for the 37th America’s Cup is taking shape. After the announcement in February of the arrival of the Accor hotel group – through its Orient Express brand – as main partner, Stephan Kandler and Bruno Dubois, at the origin and co-directors of the project, revealed, Thursday, July 6, the identity of the members of the group of sailors “expected” to compete in the Challengers Series (elimination regattas in duels) aimed at winning the oldest sporting trophy in the world from Emirates Team New Zealand, its holder since the last edition of 2021.
The tricolor collective Orient Express Team Racing is – unsurprisingly – led by Quentin Delapierre, 30, and Kevin Peponnet, 32, appointed to the helmsman positions. François Morvan, 40, and Matthieu Vandame, 41, will act as trimmers (managing the sails). A quartet from the French SailGP team, an international regatta circuit launched in 2019 aboard F50, foiling catamarans capable of literally flying over the water at nearly 100 km/h.
“We know each other, we communicate well, we trust each other perfectly, we are motivated to perform quickly, and there are no questions of ego, so many guarantees to make the boat move faster… »confided Quentin Delapierre to the Monde.
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The energy on board, essential for activating the sails, foils and on-board instruments, must be produced by the strength of the calves, seven other crew members, the “cyclists”, selected for their capacity for endurance and explosiveness, join the square of navigators. Among them, Olivier Herlédant and Tim Lapauw, also from the SailGP circuit, but also the four former rowers of the French rowing team Germain Chardin, Antoine Nougarede and the brothers Rémi and Thibaut Verhoeven, as well as the world champion of CrossFit Master Maxime Guyon.
A double Olympic medalist in rowing in the team
For Germain Chardin, 40, bronze medalist at the Beijing Olympics and silver at the London Olympics, marketing manager at SNCF, “this opportunity to participate in the oldest competition in the world [créée en 1851] rekindled the flame”. And before boarding, the crew “does a lot of “volume”: cycling, muscle strengthening, apnea and breathing work, he explained to World. We have a little over a year left to integrate navigation”.
Responsible for performance, the legend of ocean racing, Franck Cammas, 50, will, for his part, ensure the link between the sailors, the design and technical teams. “To be competitive, you need a well-designed boat, a crew that knows how to use it, but also understands how it works. For that, you need good communication between the departments in order to refine and adjust the way we use the boat,” he points out in a press release.
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