How do you say, already? Yes, that’s it, whoever goes hunting loses his place. While 115 skippers will set off this Sunday for the 13th edition of the Route du Rhum, Erwan Le Roux will have free rein. Having remained at the dock, despite himself, for this transatlantic, the outgoing winner in the Ocean Fifty category will be able to “quietly” look for new sponsors, without competition, to set up his project for the 2028 Vendée Globe.
Because this is now what drives the Morbihannais, who fought for a long time in the hope of finding the necessary financing to try to reach Guadeloupe from Saint-Malo. In vain. “I lived on credit throughout the season, telling myself that I was going to find a complementary partner, except that I didn’t find one,” he laments. Overall, around 30% of the budget for the year, which is 1.2 million euros, was missing. »
That is 400,000 euros (for those angry with maths) that Le Roux, who is having a difficult season after a capsize a year ago, has never managed to find despite numerous canvassing. “Between the presidential election, macro and microeconomics or wars, businesses are afraid of the future. Investments dedicated to communication and sponsorship are somewhat frozen. And when you see that Thomas can’t do it either, it hits you…”
Thomas Ruyant also threw in the towel
Because Erwan Le Roux is not the only one who was unable to board his car heading to Pointe-à-Pitre for financial reasons. Without a major sponsor, Thomas Ruyant, title holder in the Imoca category, also decided to throw in the towel a little over a month before the start of the race. If the Northerner, who released a new foiler this summer, did not wish to mention figures, we are talking, according to our information, of a budget significantly higher than 2 million euros.
“It’s a significant budget,” concedes Ruyant. But we also know that the return on investment is enormous. We have the impression that we are at the end of the cycle and that, today, we need new partners. And we know that once they are there, they will stay. We tried to only sell a Route du Rhum one-shot, but we did it, or offered it, probably too late. If we had managed to hire a company with us on this Route du Rhum, we know that it was a project that would have lasted, which would have continued towards the Vendée Globe. But companies cannot afford to make a long-term commitment, because there is uncertainty. »
Maxime Sorel will be leaving Saint-Malo this Sunday. But the skipper of Vaincre la Cystic Fibrosis still struggled until the end to make up his budget. And even had to open an online kitty to try to find 100,000 euros, out of a total budget of 800,000 euros, after launching his boat very late.
“The depressions kept coming”
Like Ruyant and Le Roux, Sorel spent a lot of time trying to find funding. More than reason, even, since he has not competed in a single race this year. But with the goal of keeping his team afloat. “We had a choice, but we decided to continue,” adds the one who participated in the last UTMB. It’s still a real challenge, with the depressions coming one after the other. You end up with a company, 12 employees, more partners, more turnover. We had to find solutions, reduce the team a little, manage to keep the hard core by motivating them, by telling them “guys, it’s going to start again”. When we put the boat back in the water, it was a relief, but we lost 50% of the workforce. »
So, is ocean racing suffering from a growth crisis, at a time when it has never been so popular and publicized, like the last Vendée Globe? Not at all, proclaims Joseph Bizard, general manager of OC Sport, the organizing company of the Route du Rhum, who is delighted to see the race grow structurally and to have figures that double from one edition to the next:
“The disappointments of certain projects in certain classes must be mirrored with the successes of other classes. We have a record participation in the Ultim class (8), which are the most expensive boats. We have ten boats in the Ocean Fifty class, which is three more than in 2022. The Route du Rhum with 115 boats still gives a picture of offshore racing which is that of a sport that is doing rather well. There must be 500 brands involved in the 115 projects. Which does not mean that there are not cycles in which it is more or less difficult to find money. »
Comments which made Thomas Ruyant raise his eyebrows somewhat: “I think that the organizers also have their role to play so that offshore racing continues, and when there are times that are a little harder, that they are also there to take over, and then also help the projects to be set up. The skippers must remain at the center of the race. »
“The rich are getting richer”
In this sport without revenue from ticketing or TV rights, Erwan Le Roux still believes that certain changes are necessary to prevent the bubble from quickly bursting. “Sailing is becoming more and more expensive. And other sports alongside offer more attractive visibility. I spoke with a company which preferred to be displayed on the back of a jersey of a rugby team which plays every weekend on Canal rather than coming in sailing. You have to ask yourself the right questions. Sailing becomes exactly what we are in society: the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. »
Le Roux and Sorel also point out certain teams who bring out a new boat every two years with ever-increasing resources, the lack of recognition for categories other than Imoca and Ultim and the lack of certainties linked to a mechanical sport, where everything can stop with a problem in the first hours of the race, as Le Roux experienced during the last Transat Café l'Or, with his capsize the first night following the start.
“We are setting up projects that are a little too disproportionate compared to the current economy,” adds Maxime Sorel. Today, the general public is unable to tell the difference between a boat of my generation and a latest generation foiler. They’re still foiling boats. And I remain shocked at the sums of some, who for six months are asking for my budget for the year 2024 for the Vendée Globe, i.e. 2.4 million euros. »
All our skippers are nevertheless optimistic for the future. Even Erwan Le Roux, who was depressed this year: “We make people dream and it’s great, people manage to escape with our adventures. I think it’s good for all of our mental health, we also serve that purpose somewhere. »
