Ulysse Nardin, new partner of the Vendée Globe 2020-2021

A little less than one year from the start of the next race which is due on November 8, 2020, Yves Auvinet, the President of the Vendée Globe, is pleased to announce the signing of a new race partner. Ulysse Nardin, a pioneering fine Swiss watchmaker which has built its reputation through its links with the maritine world since 1860, becomes the Official Timekeeper of this ninth edition. Together, we are going to explore the oceans.

This 2020-2021 Vendée Globe is already shaping up as a very promising edition. The number of candidate entries is alread a record at 37 prospective solo skippers. This race is set to feature a very high level of innovation and a diverse sporting spectrum including rookies and returnees, podium challengers as well as adventurers, several women skippers are expected and up to 11 different nationalities should be represented.

The ninth edition of the ‘Everest of the Seas’ could see its heroic skippers reduce still further the elapsed time for the race and so break the record of 74 days 3 hours 35 minutes 46 seconds set by winner Armel Le Cléac’h in 2017.

A natural association between Everest of the Seas and the Swiss watch brand

"We are delighted to welcome Ulysse Nardin as the Official Timekeeper of the Vendée Globe 2020-2021. This brand of Swiss haute horlogerie has been built internationally through its association with the marine world. It is therefore natural that the Vendée Globe, the international reference for solo ocean racing and UysseNardin come together to realise this partnership for the next edition. I take this opportunity to thank Patrick Pruniaux, CEO of Ulysse Nardin, for his confidence.” Said Yves Auvinet, President of the Vendée Globe.

The Real Ulysses of modern times

“This is not a race for those who doubt themselves”, says Patrick Pruniaux, CEO of Ulysse Nardin. “This is a challenge for modern-day Ulysses who believe that they will be able to confront themselves, their fears and nature’s strongest forces in order to complete an Odyssey of epic proportions.”

Thanks to this partnership, the Vendée Globe and Ulysse Nardin will together highlight the wider universe of this legendary race, a world dear to the values of Ulysse Nardin.