And the winner is...Virbac-St-Raphaël Générali - Tour de France

by Isabelle Musy & jane Arden on 29 Jul 2001 Jean-Pierre Dick's crew won the Tour de France à la Voile 2001 ahead of
Hamish Pepper's Sun Microsystems Team New Zealand Racing Crew and Jimmy
Pahun's Région Ile de France.

The Kiwis won two of today's three races off Mandelieu-La Napoule and
therefore moved up to second overall.

Simon Shaw's British University Sailing Team finished in a good 9th overall
and and an excellent 1st in the Student Class!

Luckily, the southerly sea breeze allowed the race committee to start three
inshore races today off Mandelieu La Napoule. Jean-Pierre Dick's Virbac
St-Raphaël Générali, who had a comfortable 30 points lead, sailed very
constantly, finishing in 2nd, 3rd and 9th and therefore grabbed overall
victory in this 23rd Tour de France à la Voile. It is the first time since
1998 that a French team has won the event.
There was lots of tension among the fleet when the gun first fired at 1145
to see a general recall. The race committee restarted at 1200. Local boat
Ville de Théoule et Mandelieu, skippered by Sylvain Chtounder, was happy to
win this first race in their hometown. Jean-Pierre Dick's Virbac St-Raphaël
Générali made a first step towards final victory as they crossed the line in
second with their closest rivals a far way behind. Jimmy Pahun's Région Ile
de France came in 10th and Hamish Pepper's Sun Microsystems Team New Zealand
Racing Crew in 11th.
It didn't take long though for the Kiwis to find their feet and win the next
two races. They had a risky but excellent start in the second race which set
them up in the lead and then they carried it from there.
As the leaders had finished 3rd in the second race, they couldn't lose the
regatta anymore. But their two wins allowed the black boat, helmed by
French-Kiwi man Bertrand Pacé , to move up to second place overall.
The Kiwis have won 9 races out of 29. 'We won more races than Virbac but
they sail more consistently. I'm a bit frustrated but I'm happy for my
friend and former crew aboard Virbac', said Bertrand Pacé.
Hamish Pepper also commented on these final results: 'We're a little bit
disappointed but pleased to finish second. Next time, we might come back
with a white boat that is not so easily seen on the start line. We had four
OCS's that potentially cost us a chance of the regatta. But that's sailing.
Virbac sailed very well. They didn't take as many risks as us'.
The Kiwi skipper added: 'It's been excellent for Team New Zealand's program
as we had 20 members of team out here. That is a majority of our sailing
team participating. It's great to do one -design sailing with this calibre
of fleet. It's something that Team New Zealand doesn't do enough. It was a
great opportunity to come and do this'.
Jean-Pierre Dick's boat escorted the 38 Mumm 30 fleet as they came back into
the marina, applauded by a large public.
'We had a good team with seven permanent crew. Besides, we had worked a lot
before the regatta which helped us to be very consistent', said Jean-Pierre
Dick.
'We're very happy. It's a very nice event. We probably prepared this more
like foreign teams do rather than French teams. That is training quite a lot
with two boats. Therefore we managed to be consistent and did not take too
many risks', added tactician Tanguy Cariou.
Things have been hectic today for Simon Shaw's British University Sailing
Team who finished in top spot in the student rankings. They went into
today's racing in first place and managed to keep leadership until the last
race. The second placed CSC Peat Marwick Essec then really pushed the boat
out and came in fifth pinching the lead from the Brits. However, the French
students had two protests lodged against them. They lost, and were
sufficiently penalised in order for the British Students to reclaim their
1st place in the Student division. Simon Shaw commented on the last day of
racing and the Tour: 'They needed to get 12 points from us today, they
pushed really hard, and they did. It is unfortunate that it had to come to
an end in the protest room but then, after a month long event it really does
make a difference. This is what we came out here to do and we've done it,
as well as achieving a really respectable 9th overall. We've had a great
time and you can expect to see us again next year - bring it on!!' A very
happy skipper indeed.
Isabelle Musy and Jane Arden