The Vendée Globe in Les Sables d'Olonne

When Vendée rhymes with saving

Competition and adrenalin are at the heart of the Vendée Globe, but so is the environment! Highly committed to preserving the ocean, the race is committed to using its media power to raise awareness of the environmental challenges facing the world. By combining a passion for sailing with a concern for the environment, the Vendée Globe is unfurling its sails for a much wider mission: that of protecting the oceans and preserving their splendour for future generations. All the more reason to follow the extraordinary saga of these sailors!

The Vendée Globe: a race for champions

A real challenge of adventure and endurance, the Vendée Globe is for seasoned skippers! They embark on a solo, non-stop, unassisted round-the-world yacht race. Each edition of this competition, which takes place every four years, attracts the most daring sailors, ready to brave the winds and tides... and all for several months! Starting in Les Sables d'Olonne, the skippers embark on an epic race across the oceans, from the storms of Cape Horn to the dangers of Antarctica, via the flat calm of the equator.

40 skippers

1. Fabrice Amédéo (Nexans - Wewise) - France
2. Romain Attanasio (Fortinet - Best Western) - France
3. Eric Bellion (Stand as one) - France
4. Yannick Bestaven (Maître Coq V) - France
5. Jérémie Beyou (Charal) - France
6. Arnaud Boissières (La Mie Câline) - France
7. Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée) - France
8. Conrad Colman (MS Amlin) - France United States / New Zealand
9. Antoine Cornic (Human Immobilier) - France
10. Manuel Cousin (Coup de pouce) - France
11. Clarisse Cremer (L'Occitane en Provence) - France
12. Charlie Dalin (Macif Santé Prévoyance) - France
13. Sam Davies (Initiatives Coeur) - United Kingdom
14. Violette Dorange (Devenir) - France
15. Louis Duc (Fives Group - Lantana Environnement) - France
16. Benjamin Dutreux (Guyot environnement - Water Family) - France
17. Benjamin Ferré (Monnoyeur - Duo for a job) - France
18. Sam Goodchild (Vulnerable) - United Kingdom
19. Pip Hare (Medallia) - United Kingdom
20. Oliver Heer (Oliver Heer Ocean Racing) - Switzerland
21. Boris Herrmann (Malizia - Seaexplorer) - Germany
22. Isabelle Joschke (MACSF) - France - Germany
23. Jean Le Cam (Tout commence en Finistère - Armor Lux) - France
24. Tanguy Le Turquais (Lazare) - France
25. Nicolas Lunven (Holcim PRB) - France
26. Sébastien Marsset (Foussier) - France
27. Paul Meilhat (Biotherm) - France
28. Justine Mettraux (Teamwork - Team SNEF) - Switzerland
29. Giancarlo Pedote (Prysmian) - Italy
30. Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa) - France
31. Alan Roura (Hublot) - Switzerland
32. Thomas Ruyant (Vulnerable) - France
33. Damien Seguin (Groupe Apicil) - France
34. Kojiro Shiraishi (DMG Mori Global One) - Japan
35. Sébastien Simon (Dubreuil Group) - France
36. Maxime Sorel (V and B - Monbana - Mayenne) - France
37. Guirec Soudée (Freelance.com) - France
38. Denis Van Weynbergh (D'ieteren Group) - Belgium
39. Szabolcs Weöres (New Europe) - Hungary
40. Jingkun Xu (Singchain Team Haikou) - China

A heroic journey around the world

The route of the Vendée Globe is simple on paper: circumnavigate the globe, starting and finishing in Les Sables d'Olonne. This represents a theoretical length of at least 21,638 nautical miles, not counting the detours the sailors may take to avoid the vagaries of the weather. The course begins with a descent to the south of the Atlantic Ocean, where the skippers face the capricious Bay of Biscay. Things get complicated when the boats reach the latitude of the Roaring Forties... and even more so when they reach the Roaring Fifties! Once rounding Cape Horn, the boats head back up the Atlantic Ocean. This is another major test, given the severe weather at this time of year (January/February).

Loads of festivities in Les Sables d'Olonne for the Vendée Globe

The village of Les Sables d'Olonne is transformed into a whirlwind of activities and festivities during the Vendée Globe! Between the lively stands offering sailing demonstrations, interactive exhibitions on marine biodiversity and meetings with intrepid sailors, the atmosphere is electric and pulsating with the rhythm of adventures on the high seas. Entertainment for all ages and tastes emanates from the lanes of the village, inviting visitors to dive headfirst into the captivating world of round-the-world racing. Whether you're a sailing enthusiast or simply curious to learn more about the oceans, the village of Les Sables d'Olonne promises an immersive and unforgettable experience, where the spirit of adventure mingles with the magic of celebration!

How to get to the Vendée Globe Village?

Find below the different means of transport to help you get to the Vendée Globe Village in Port Olona!

The Marinettes

They'll be back every day during the Village period, up to and including 11 November.

They'll be running every 15 minutes from 9.30am to 10pm, so you can get around freely between the Village, the town centre and La Chaume!

• Marinette 1: beach town centre
• Marinette 2: la Chaume

Oléane Mobilités

Carpooling

Make the Vendée Globe a collective adventure and opt for car pooling!

The organisers are setting up dedicated car parks for carpoolers, closer to the entrances to the village, to encourage carpooling, which is both economical and environmentally friendly.

See the platforms: blablacar.fr or roulezmalin.com or laroueverte.com....

Where are the car parks?

Save time, come to the Vendée Globe on foot!

If you get off the train at Les Sables d'Olonne station in the centre of town, you'll reach the Vendée Globe Village in just 12 minutes (850 m).

For your health, it's recommended that you take 6,000 steps a day, so give walking a go!

From the Vendée Globe Village :

• The Grande Plage is a 12-minute walk away (850 m)
• The fishing port is an 8-minute walk away (600 m)
• Arundel Tower and Château St Clair are 17 minutes' walk away (1.3 km)
• The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MASC) is 19 minutes' walk away (1.4 km)

Maritime Shuttles

Sea Bus

There will also be two shuttle services between the marina, La Chaume and the fishing port:

• Ferry A: Quai George V (between Place d'Armes and La Chaume), and Quai Guiné (city centre side)
• Sea Bus: between Port Olona and Quai Guiné

More info on the maritime shuttles

Cycle facilities

To find your cycling route, www.geovelo.fr has an interactive map of cycling facilities and a route calculator dedicated to cycling.

Find my route

D-Day

A record 40 IMOCAS will set sail from Les Sables d'Olonne on Sunday 10 November 2024, in what promises to be a magical parade for skippers and spectators alike!

• Provisional start times from the pontoons: 8am for the first boat and 10.45am for the last boat.

The first boats and their skippers will be leaving Port Olona in the early hours of the morning, at 8am, to enjoy a symbiosis with the crowds and say a final farewell to the public they love so much.

To make sure you're there, here are a few 'Sablais tips':

• Make sure you're well covered up, with hooded parkas and gloves. In November, the first cold spells can start to appear, so it's a good idea to take up a position very early, on the quays along the channel, on the jetties or at the Saint-Nicolas priory in La Chaume, for those who want to watch the majestic giants of the seas take to the skies.
• Bring a pair of binoculars so you don't miss a thing.
• Visit the cafés and bakeries that will be opening their doors for hungry gourmets who have missed breakfast.

Race HQ anchored in the Vendée Globe square

After having been based in Paris Montparnasse and Les Sables d'Olonne since the creation of the Vendée Globe, Race HQ is now, for the first time in its history, moving 100% into the eponymous square and welcoming every day the people of Les Sablais, visitors passing through and all those curious who want to get as close as possible to the life of the skippers at sea. In the presence of the race director, the doctors and members of the organising team, you can experience the shifts live: at the initiative of the skippers or the organising team, these are the only times that are allowed during the race, to give your exact position, take news, report incidents or more serious problems, which require a competitor to be rerouted or a search to be launched. These are exhilarating moments, in osmosis with the sailor and his state of mind at the time, with emotion or humour, with the talkative or the quiet, with the creaking of the boat and the gusts in the background, it's almost there!

Virtual racing on Virtual Regatta

One million players challenged each other on Virtual Regatta's virtual Vendée Globe during the previous edition. The "10th" edition offers the opportunity to start again or to take part for the first time with your own boat.

Manage the energy on board, deal with fatigue, optimise manoeuvres, make strategic route choices, at the pace of the real race, in the conviviality of real sailors!

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