Normandy Channel Race 2026 Finish

Normandy Channel Race 2026 winner © Jean-Marie Liot / CIC NCR2026

Guillaume Pirouelle and Jules Ducelier on SOGESTRAN - SEAFRIGO are the overall winners of the 17th edition of the CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE by crossing the finish line of the 17th CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE today at 4:20 PM in Ouistreham.

They have added their names to the race trophy, which already includes some very prestigious names in the world of offshore racing. Following Fabien Delahaye and Pierre Leboucher in 2024 (LEGALLAIS), they have also brought the trophy back to Normandy for only the second time in 17 years. It's difficult to find adjectives to describe these three days of racing, the shortest duration of the event since its inception, but also the fastest edition. The incredible figure of 816 nautical miles covered in 3 days, 2 hours, and 20 minutes at an average speed of 11 knots. A fiercely contested competition right up to the very end. The Norman crew took the lead on the leg between the Wolfrock lighthouse and the Portsall mark in Côtes-d'Armor and never relinquished it until the finish. Finally, this edition was also an incredible journey in the English Channel with a long list of breathtaking landscapes: the D-Day landing beaches in Normandy, sunrise over the Solent, the Cornish coast as far as Lizard Point, the rocky coasts of Côtes-d'Armor, Cap de la Hague in the Cotentin Peninsula, and the cliffs of the Pays de Caux after Dieppe.

Guillaume Pirouelle adds another impressive achievement to his list of accomplishments with this victory in the 2026 CIC Normandy Channel Race, but it was already quite extensive: winner of the Tour Voile in 2019, second in the Solitaire du Figaro in 2022, winner of the Jules Verne Trophy round-the-world race this winter aboard Sodebo with Thomas Coville, winner of last year's Transat Café l'Or, and a strong solo victory in the TRIN40 last April, the first event of this year's circuit. The experience gained last year with a second-place finish allowed him to reach the top step of the podium this year. At just 32 years old, this impressive record opens the door to many more major offshore adventures.

For 29-year-old Jules Ducelier, it was a rather successful first participation in the event, following a 4th place finish in the Solitaire du Figaro in 2025 and a second place in the same year's French Solo Offshore Racing Championship. The new crew (Cédric Chateau, who competed in 2025, gave way to the up-and-coming sailors) was able to capitalize on the experience of previous years.

Victory wasn't easy to achieve given the level of the 2026 fleet: smaller in number after last year's record 32 participants, it was more competitive and experienced among the 22 crews present, as evidenced by a significantly lower number of retirements (4 in total at the time of writing) than in 2025.

As for the podium, it was decided in the final minutes of the event with the passage of a very strong squall over the finish area, which reshuffled the deck. VSF SPORTS, with Pep Costa and Pablo Santurde, took a very impressive second place, 34 minutes behind the winner, followed 6 minutes later by Lucas Rosetti and Pierre Brasseur in third place on MACCAFERRI FUTURA. CUSTOPOL, skippered by Axel Trehin and Antoine Carpentier, had to settle for fourth place after a superb run in the final stretch.

The CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE will always be a demanding event; it's in its DNA, in a complex area where currents, commercial traffic, and all sorts of hazards converge. But racing in this area, the birthplace of offshore racing, shapes racing sailors and all seafarers.

To follow the race: normandy-race.com/suivre-la-course