Koesio wins 2023 Pro Sailing Tour as Solidaires En Peloton

Erwan Le Roux and his Koesio team have emerged as winners of the 2023 Pro Sailing Tour after a sometimes complex and challenging 1,650-mile 'Final Rush' leg from Alghero in the northwest of Sardinia to Brest in Brittany, France.

Erwan Le Roux and his crew of Audrey Ogereau and Devan Le Bihan finished second in the Pro Sailing Tour final rush, some 44 minutes behind Thibaut Vauchel-Camus racing Solidaires En Peloton - ARSEP after over six days at sea.

Luke Berry skippered Le Rire Médecin-Lamotte into third place on the leg which had finished with a 25 to 30 knot northeasterly and heavy seas.

Earlier in the leg, which had taken the fleet through the western Mediterranean and the Gibraltar Straits, then north around Cape Saint Vincent, the racers experienced lighter and variable winds requiring all their tactical skills.

Koesio's victory on the first two legs of the Pro Sailing Tour saw Le Roux live up to his status as one of the pre-event favourites, and take the overall title.

 "We had set ourselves the objective of winning the Pro Sailing Tour, so it's a pleasure to have done so," said Le Roux.

"We had some great racing in the Mediterranean, and even if we didn't win this stage we set the pace and fought well with Solidaires En Peloton - ARSEP, Viabilis Océans and Le Rire Médecin-Lamotte. This bodes well for the continuation of the Ocean Fifty circuit.

"This year the offshores were really intense — we really had fun the whole time. Collective energy transformed into performance is what motivates me to do everything I do."

As winner of the third edition of the Pro Sailing Tour, Le Roux follows in the wake of British racer Sam Goodchild in 2021 and the young French sailor Quentin Vlamynck in 2022, the latter adding his expertise to the 'Final Rush' leg winner Solidaires En Peloton - ARSEP.

Her skipper Vauchel-Camus said: "The first sun we have seen is here in Brest after a rather cloudy Mediterranean! We are super happy, even if we had phases of success and phases of frustration — we won't remember the two Mediterranean stages, that's for sure.

"On the Final Rush we were super committed, we were well in the game all the time. This proves that we had worked well this winter."

And he added: "We were hungry this leg: we had no more pastries left, so we wanted to win!"

The finale saw two of the five Ocean Fifty foiling trimarans hit by problems, with Christopher Pratt aboard Wind of Trust, racing with Ronan Treussart and Laurent Bourguès, withdrawing from the leg on Tuesday 23 May following minor but recurring technical issues with the recently acquired vessel.

Meanwhile Pierre Quiroga and his crew on Viabilis Océans had also hit difficulties while leading the leg on Friday, when their mainsail hook broke. An authorised pitstop in Vigo, Spain, allowed a rapid repair and Quiroga along with Léonard Legrand and Pascal Bidégorry was able to rejoin the race, though now well behind the new leaders.

The 2023 Pro Sailing Tour's opening rounds were both characterised by exceptionally close finishes among the hard-charging racers, with the 350-mile first leg — from La Seyne-sur-Mer in southeastern France to Bonifacio in Corsica — ending in dramatic fashion with Koesio edging the win just 44 seconds ahead of PST newcomer Quiroga on Viabilis Océans.

Two-time Route du Rhum winner Le Roux doubled down in a shortened leg two between Bonifacio and Alghero with back-to-back victories, while Luke Berry's Le Rire Médecin-Lamotte finished second just a minute ahead of Viabilis Océans.

Le Roux had started the 'Final Rush' with 18 points, four ahead of Viabilis Océans (14), followed by Solidaires En Peloton - ARSEP (11), Le Rire Médecin-Lamotte (9) and Wind of Trust (8).