Since 1970, the date of the first edition, The most prestigious names are listed in the Solitaire du Figaro Prize list. From Eugene Riguidal to Philip Poppin, Laurent Borgnon, Jean Le Cam, Frank Camas and Michele Djokovic to Armel Le Calacah, this solo race on a single design boat is one of the highlights of the season.

For this 2021 edition, the 32 sailors of eight nationalities (France, United States, Great Britain, Spain, Ireland, and Italy) have divided 2,488 nautical miles into 4 phases: Saint-Nazir-Lorient, Lorient-Facomp, and Facamp-Boy by mid-September -St-Nazareth is also scheduled for arrival.

Although it is always difficult to establish a list of favorites for this arduous competition, many skippers stand out from the 52nd edition. Young Tom Laparche, 23, and Xavier McCarthy won at the end of July by solo guy Cotton, Pierre LeBoucher and the essential Gildas Mahe. But Fabian Delahai, Eric Perron or Alexis Loyson, the recent winner of the Rolex Fastnet, and Niels Palmieri, the last Transat Concorne St. Barth winner, also need to be considered.

There will be five women opponents at the start: Élodie Bonafous, Violette Dorange and Estelle Greck. The first partnership was between Charlotte Yevgen and Italian Francesca Klapsich.

Of the 12 newcomers who finally find the race, Philip Hartz will surely catch his attention. The 39-year-old former naval commando is backed by the French navy and the Foundation de la Mer. The crowning amateur captain, who won the 420 championship of France and Europe at a young age, is also very ambitious. 52nd edition. For this, he trained with Jan Ellis, the triple winner of Solitaire du Figaro. The 52nd edition of Solitaire du Figaro opens on Sunday, August 22 at 5.45pm.

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