Route du Rhum: Tom Laperche Leads Ultim Class After Intense First Night

Tom Laperche holds a 30-nautical-mile lead over Armel Le Cléac’h in the 13th Route du Rhum after an intense opening night in the Celtic Sea, according to race tracking data and reports from lefigaro.fr. Racing aboard the trimaran SVR Lazartigue, Laperche has maintained his position at the front of the Ultim class since passing Cape Fréhel.

High-speed duel in the Celtic Sea

The leading Ultim trimarans reached speeds exceeding 30 knots after doubling the Isles of Scilly, according to lefigaro.fr. Following a tactical tack to the southwest of Ireland, the fleet set a course toward the Azores under fast-moving conditions. Laperche described the physical demands of the first night at sea, noting that his crew had to handle sail changes and constant adjustments to keep pace.

“We had to turn the coffee grinders quite a bit,” Laperche told race organizers during a morning radio call reported by midilibre.fr. “We had to change sails several times, which wasn’t necessarily planned. It was a pretty rugged night. It’s great to manage to race like this on these big machines, with speed differences on the order of half a knot.”

Technical setbacks and fleet standings

Anthony Marchand encountered steering trouble with the central rudder on his trimaran Actual Ultim 4, dropping from third to sixth place in the standings by Monday morning, lefigaro.fr reported. The technical issue forced him to cede ground to the front-runners as the leaders pressed onward.

Behind Laperche and Le Cléac’h, Thomas Coville secured third place aboard Sodebo Ultim 3, sitting 47.9 miles behind the leader, with Charles Caudrelier close behind in fourth on the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, which was clocked at over 40 knots, according to midilibre.fr.

Status of other racing classes

In the Imoca monohull division, Sam Goodchild took the early lead on Macif, closely contested by Italian skipper Ambrogio Beccaria and Corentin Horeau, as reported by midilibre.fr. Meanwhile, Basile Bourgnon led the Ocean Fifty fleet, where the top nine boats remained tightly packed within 10 miles of each other on Monday morning.

The Class 40 fleet saw Guillaume Pirouelle set the early pace, though the category was disrupted by the dismasting of Quentin Le Nabour and a technical stop for Marco Guerra, according to lefigaro.fr. Violette Dorange arrived in Roscoff overnight following a collision shortly after Sunday’s start, working alongside her shore crew to repair a damaged foil on her monohull.

Monday morning race pointages

Official race tracking recorded the following distances to the finish line for the leading Ultim entries on Monday morning:

• Tom Laperche (SVR Lazartigue) — 2,981.7 miles from the finish
• Armel Le Cléac’h (Maxi Banque Populaire XI) — 30 miles behind leader
• Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim 3) — 47.9 miles behind leader
• Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond De Rothschild) — 64.5 miles behind leader
• Louis Burton (Ultim Armand Thiery) — 81.1 miles behind leader
• Anthony Marchand (Actual Ultim 4) — 82.7 miles behind leader

Upcoming weather transition

Race organizers reported that the Ultim fleet faces changing weather conditions on Monday, with lighter winds forecast to arrive in the area later in the day as the leading trimarans continue their approach toward the northern Azores.

More on this story: Route du Rhum 2026: Favorites and Reader Predictions Class by Class · Route du Rhum: 115 Sailors Set Sail from Saint-Malo