Tom, what's going through your head after this incredible victory?
Tom Laperche: It’s a childhood dream who grew up at the age of six-eight in La Trinité-sur-Mer and who dreamed of one day sailing on these big boats. I have always seen incredible images of arrivals here, of great champions for decades. It was my dream to succeed in racing the premier class of multihulls, and to compete for victory. I am impressed by the welcome and the noise that the public made, it touches me enormously. I knew it wouldn't be easy. You don't win the Route du Rhum with your hands in your pockets. I loved it. I found everything I wanted to find: full speed, the feeling where everything is happening quite fluidly and a state of grace.
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It’s a victory achieved with a boat that is also reaching maturity…
The team did an extraordinary job. They have worked enormously for years to ensure that this trimaran, this will be its fifth year, is at its best level. We see that today we have made enormous progress. I was all alone at sea, but I can tell you that on land, they did an extraordinary job. They trusted me four, five years ago when I didn’t yet have these results. It’s a great company (SVR Lazartigue) and I’m very proud to have shared and worked with them. It still promises very good things.
What were the weather conditions like for this crossing?
It was special weather. There was no trade wind coming from the east over the West Indies and as a result we had to take routes quite north. I discussed it with Charles Caudrelier who said that it was not easy weather. A lot of adjustments had to be made and the maneuvers were very long. I spent a lot of energy and I constantly re-mobilized myself but I loved this difficulty. I took enormous pleasure in surpassing myself, in pushing back limits that we wouldn't suspect and each time being happy to have climbed each small level.
The turning point is the capsize of Armel Le Cléac’h
Tom Laperche
When did the race take place in your opinion?
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The big turning point was when we found ourselves quite close with Armel Le Cléac’h and Banque Populaire and they capsized (on November 4, Editor’s note). I can tell you that when you learn this alone in the middle of the ocean, it’s quite an emotion. It freezes the blood. I didn't really know what to do anymore and I was really nervous before leaving. I have a big thought for them. It is certain that in the end, at a given moment, in relation to the score, it changes a little bit the rhythm of the hours which follow the event. These boats are exceptional, but we are always on a tightrope, which means we experience crazy emotions. In fact, it’s almost indescribable verbally. We are on edge all the time. Everything that happens to us is a total commitment, but one that you don't find anywhere else either.
When you were children, you met Laurent Bourgnon, the double winner of the event, to tell him of your intention to do this race, tell us…
I wanted to do the Route du Rhum. Laurent Bourgnon, he had difficulty convincing me that it was not possible since he had done it in a small sports catamaran a few years before (at 20 years old in a hobie cat, Editor's note). Afterwards, he had the results that we know with the victories here. It was for me a reference in the piloting and in the development of these racing boats.
You did a transatlantic with your father when you were 14. Was that when you caught the ocean racing bug?
Yes, I was lucky to have parents who took me on a cruise, a dad who did the Route du Rhum, who arrived here in 2010. For once, it was a great experience to bring the boat back and spend nights and days at sea. Which we rarely have the opportunity to do and which allows you to see if, already, if you are comfortable and if you like it. Because ultimately, you are far from everything in a small environment and you have to enjoy being with nature, listening to a machine and listening to the elements to take the best route. Afterwards, you add the competition which makes it truly extraordinary.
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Tribute to François Gabart
You joined the MerConcept offshore racing team as a trainee in 2019, taken under the wing of François Gabard. How far we’ve come in such a short time…
I did an internship at MerConcept alongside François Gabart in 2019 and this magnificent SVR Lazartigue trimaran was still in the construction and end of design phase. I didn't know what it would lead to but I got along very well with François and we were able to race double-handed. I think I will never thank him enough for this opportunity and especially for believing in me. He was convinced that I was capable of leading these big boats before I believed in it and gained that confidence in myself. He had perceived that. A big thank you to him. I also thank Pascal Bidégorry and Franck Cammas. Franck was still with us on the routing during these six days of non-stop racing. It makes my throat tighten because they all gave me everything they could to make me perform at my best.
One thing I haven't managed to do is travel around the world.
Tom Laperche
Now that you have won the Route du Rhum, what do you dream of?
Win a second time! No, we have a sport, sailing, ocean racing, which is evolving enormously and there are still plenty of great challenges. Something that I haven't managed to do is circumnavigate the world on these boats and that remains important in the things I want to do.
What condition is the boat in at the end of this race?
We arrive with a boat that is at 100% of its potential. He had no damage. I'm happy because it's quick to make a mistake and break equipment. We're going to do lots of checks. These are complex boats, there are lots of things to check, but I believe it is in very good condition.
What link unites you to this boat now?
It’s true that at one point, you talk to him and there was also this music “Fly, fly” (a piece that a composer sent him and that he kept listening to during the race, Editor’s note). I wanted this boat to fly, to be stable and to go as fast as possible. There are times, that’s all he asked for and it’s nice to try to be on the same level as him.
