Our Mate Alex Thomson’s Races
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This Race is a very good way to introduce my under 10 kids to the world.
They ask nearly every day for Alex´s position.
(Perhaps I am pushing it a bit ;D.)
They like the Japanese competitor most, because of his funny video eating seafood!Turning around Cape Horn, A. is getting on fire! Starboard time!
Brilliant…...
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After Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss appears to have completed one of the biggest comebacks ever in the history of the Vendéee Globe, reducing his delta to 28 miles this Friday morning from over 800 miles last Friday, his rival Armel Le Cléac'h has found a light easterly breeze and is now moving away from the British skipper who was making just over three knots.
Go find some more wind Alex…...
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@Seul earlier.
I know that he's Belgian, not French, but they're all foreigners, and hence the same, to us post-Brexit Brits.
But go Alex!
Meanwhile Stéphane Le Diraison, who's sailing
thea previous Hugo Boss is moored up in Melbourne after losing his mast. I'll have to get down there to take a look. -
And Alex just beat the 24 hour IMOCA record, with 536.8 miles covered…
Officially this time, rather than the unofficially because he was less than a mile ahead of Gabart's 24 hour run.
It looks like it'll be a fast finish to the race. There's not far to go, so fingers crossed that Alex can outrun Armel on the final leg.
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Well, if the Fat Lady isn't singing, she's certainly warming up in the wings…
Armel is about sixty miles from Les Sables d'Olonne, with Alex another hundred behind him. Barring a last minute mishap, and they do happen, I think that the race has its winner.
I wonder if Alex will be back again next time. There are rumours that the next generation Volvo Ocean Race and Vendéé Globe boats will be 68' (nearly 21 metres) long, and foil stabilised. We'll probably hear in a couple of months, once the dust has settled from this event. Maybe that'll tempt him into another attempt.
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Looks like Alex is going again in 2020…
http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/news/18347/thomson-talks-of-2020-vision
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Bumped into Alex in the gym today. Basically over a 2.5 month race, his large muscles atrophy, so he's bulking up. I'm meeting him at the pub tonight where he is giving a little speech etc. His first question to me was, "Are you going to get hammered tonight? I'm not sure whether to or not"…....
That's the sort of training I can help him with.....
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Well, if Alex can raise the sponsorship, he is going to do it again in 4 yers. I suspect the sponsorship deal is effectively already sorted - but he's being a little coy…
Plan will be to sell the current boat as it's worth a lot because it is so fast (he reckoned like for like he was 2 knots faster than the French in most winds), but he wants a new boat built learning from his design mistakes on the last one and of course being completely up to date with the new rating IMOCA 60 rating.
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There's an IMOCA class meeting in a month or two to discuss rules, and I think that I posted earlier that there are rumours that it might be shared with the Volvo Ocean Race. If it's a big shakeup, then selling now, and building anew is a very good plan.
But I expect Alex to be back. It sounds like he's got unfinished business.
