The fight was tense this Wednesday around 5 p.m. between the leaders of the provisional general classification after two stages of the Solitaire du Figaro Paprec. They were progressing upwind, and were only 2 miles apart. Barring a trap or a blow from Jarnac, Basile Bourgnon (Edenred), Corentin Horeau (Banque Populaire) and Loïs Berrehar (Skipper Macif 2022) were going to scrap hard until the end of their final round.
And very clever to know which swordsman would deliver the last blow at Piriac-sur-Mer, the end of this 54th edition in Loire-Atlantique. Basile Bourgnon, the youngest in the race who before the start said he did not experience stress, could still be cramped in his little shoes with his short eight minutes ahead of Corentin Horeau and his 32 minutes over Loïs Berrehar, the rest of the peloton being relegated to more than 3 hours. A ditch. But nothing was written even though there were 75 miles left to cross out.
Corentin Horeau, hunter and hunted, intended to win his first Solitaire in seven participations. “The goal is to be as close as possible to Macif in terms of time and we have to give Edenred a little cushion. For the moment I’m not thinking about it too much because we haven’t let go from the start. But the wind does anything, we’re fed up with it, it’s annoying. Knowing what he’s going to do is super hard. There’s still a way to go but I’m going to get this victory. It’s sure and certain. I slept well the last two nights, I ate well. So I’m ready to go all the way to the end. »
Loïs Berrehar, right in front of him, as the tacks changed, seemed less tense: “For the moment, we still have wind but it is tending to ease. My position on the water suits me, I have to stay focused and opportunistic. And there’s still a lot going to happen before we get to the end. I will make sure to finish ahead of the other two but without any particular strategy, other than taking the right tacks with the wind I have and better than them. But it will be very weak if I understood correctly. So it will take energy to finish. As in the previous stage, this is where everything can be at stake. »
In addition to the final victory, the stage was also decided. Benoît Tuduri (Capso-En Cavale), yet another trickster, Jules Delpech (Orcom) and Élodie Bonafous (Quéguiner-La Vie en rose) leading the ride. The arrival is planned by the organizers between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. this Thursday.
