The list of Vendée Globe 40 Skippers unveiled

40 Vendée Globe Skippers © Vendée Globe

The 2020 edition of the Vendée Globe has generated unprecedented interest. As a result, the organisers decided to increase the number of places at the start to 40 for the 2024 edition. 44 skippers applied for this 10th edition.

At the end of the New York Vendée - Les Sables d'Olonne, 42 skippers managed to qualify, but there will be only 40 at the start on 10 November 2024.

For safety reasons and to preserve the unique and exceptional characteristics of this race, the number of competitors at the start has been set at 40, as will be the case for the 2028 edition.

The qualification rules have been strengthened since 2020: the sailors had to take the start of 2 solo races and finish at least one of them between 2022 and 2024, in a time that does not exceed the winner's time plus 50%. Among the 44 projects, 42 skippers managed to qualify.

With the aim of encouraging innovation, the 13 new boats were automatically selected. The 26 other projects were selected on the basis of the number of miles raced since the Transat Jacques Vabre 2021.

This left three projects to choose from for the 40th place, the "wild card" given out by the organisers. Oliver Heer, the skipper having covered the most miles of these three projects was selected: "It wasn't an easy choice, as these three skippers are extremely deserving. I consulted a number of people, including the president of the IMOCA Class and my race director. After careful consideration, I've decided to play the selection game and decide between them in the order of the mileage rankings, thereby respecting the rules of sport" explains Alain Leboeuf, President of the Vendée Department and the Vendée Globe.

Vendée Globe Skippers:

• Fabrice AMEDEO (Nexans - Wewise) - FRA
• Romain ATTANASIO (Fortinet - Best Western) - FRA
• Eric BELLION (STAND AS ONE) - FRA
• Yannick BESTAVEN (Maître CoQ V) - FRA
• Jérémie BEYOU (Charal) - FRA
• Arnaud BOISSIÈRES (La Mie Câline) - FRA
• Louis BURTON (Bureau Vallée) - FRA
• Conrad COLMAN (MS Amlin) - USA/NZL
• Antoine CORNIC (Human Immobilier) - FRA
• Manuel COUSIN (Coup de Pouce) - FRA
• Clarisse CRÉMER (L'Occitane en Provence) - FRA
• Charlie DALIN (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) - FRA
• Samantha DAVIES (Initiatives-Cœur) - GBR
• Violette DORANGE (DeVenir) - FRA
• Louis DUC (Fives Group - Lantana Environnement) - FRA
• Benjamin DUTREUX (GUYOT environnement - Water Family) - FRA
• Benjamin FERRÉ (Monnoyeur - Duo for a Job) - FRA
• Sam GOODCHILD (VULNERABLE) - GBR
• Pip HARE (Medallia) - GBR
• Oliver HEER (Oliver Heer Ocean Racing) - SUI
• Boris HERRMANN (Malizia - Seaexplorer) - GER
• Isabelle JOSCHKE (MACSF) - FRA/GER
• Jean LE CAM (Tout commence en Finistère - Armor-lux) - FRA
• Tanguy LE TURQUAIS (Lazare) - FRA
• Nicolas LUNVEN (Holcim - PRB) - FRA
• Sébastien MARSSET (Foussier) - FRA
• Paul MEILHAT (Biotherm) - FRA
• Justine METTRAUX (TeamWork - Team SNEF) - SUI
• Giancarlo PEDOTE (Prysmian) - ITA
• Yoann RICHOMME (Paprec Arkéa) - FRA
• Alan ROURA (Hublot) - SUI
• Thomas RUYANT (VULNERABLE) - FRA
• Damien SEGUIN (Groupe APICIL) - FRA
• Kojiro SHIRAISHI (DMG MORI Global One) - JPN
• Sébastien SIMON (Groupe Dubreuil) - FRA
• Maxime SOREL (V and B - Monbana - Mayenne) - FRA
• Guirec SOUDÉE (Freelance.com) - FRA
• Denis VAN WEYNBERGH (D'Ieteren Group) - BEL
• Szabolcs WEÖRES (New Europe) - HUN
• Jingkun XU (Singchain Team Haikou) - CHN