Six days, 13 hours, 27 minutes, and 40 seconds: that is the exact elapsed time recorded by Tom Laperche to complete the 13th edition of the Route du Rhum, shattering the previous transatlantique benchmark set by Charles Caudrelier in 2022 by 6 hours, 19 minutes, and 45 seconds, lepoint.fr reported. Racing his trimaran SVR Lazartigue across the Atlantic, the 29-year-old French skipper claimed victory in Guadeloupe in what marked his debut appearance in the solo ocean race.
How Laperche Secured a Record-Breaking Passage
The decisive run began on November 1, when the fleet departed Saint-Malo. Within barely an hour of the starting gun, Laperche overtook fellow competitor Armel Le Cléac’h near the Cap Fréhel buoy to take command of the fleet. He held that lead nearly uninterrupted through the remainder of the course.
Race organizers awarded Laperche a time compensation bonus of one hour and two minutes after he diverted his course to assist following the capsize of Armel Le Cléac’h during the night of November 3–4 north-west of the Azores. Despite sailing through a tropical depression near the Antilles that slowed the giant trimaran's progress in the final stages, Laperche crossed the finish line in Pointe-à-Pitre at 22:31 local time on Saturday (03:31 Sunday in Paris), according to ladepeche.fr.
Attrition Among the Ultim Fleet
Laperche’s victory unfolded against a backdrop of widespread mechanical failures and structural damage that eliminated his primary rivals in the Ultim class. Early podium contenders Anthony Marchand and Charles Caudrelier both withdrew from the race due to severe equipment breakages.
Armel Le Cléac’h, who had closed within roughly 20 miles of the race leader prior to his accident, capsized his vessel in heavy seas. Laperche’s victory follows a period of professional rebuilding after his retirement from the Arkéa Ultim Challenge—a solo round-the-world race—after striking an unidentified floating object after eleven days at sea. He subsequently rebounded by winning, alongside Franck Cammas, the Transat Café L’Or in double-handed mode at the end of 2025.
Mentorship Under François Gabart
The winning trimaran, SVR Lazartigue, was developed within the MerConcept stable founded by François Gabart, the winner of the 2012–2013 Vendée Globe. Gabart selected Laperche as his co-skipper for the Transat Jacques Vabre and mentored him through the development phase of the high-speed Ultim, which is capable of reaching speeds near 50 knots (92 km/h) under optimal conditions.
Upon arriving in Guadeloupe, Laperche was greeted on the docks by family members, including his father Philippe, a dentist and former offshore racer, his mother Sabine, his younger brother Mathieu, and his grandparents. The skipper acknowledged the impressive turnout of people gathered despite the late hour, noting that winning the Route du Rhum had been his dream race since he started sailing. After nearly a week in total isolation in the Atlantic, the skipper was welcomed by the embraces of his loved ones, the flashes of dozens of photographers, and the applause of thousands of people gathered on the docks. C’est une victoire énorme, c’est ma course de rêve, quand j’ai commencé la voile s’il y avait une chose que je voulais gagner, c’était la Route du Rhum
Laperche stated. Sur cette course, j’ai parfois réussi à basculer dans une forme d’état de grâce : dès que je prenais une décision, c’était la bonne
he added, describing those moments as absolument extraordinaires à vivre
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