After a tough first week in the Tour de France à la Voile, the winners of 2005 event claim their first victory on the offshore leg between Saint-Quay-Portrieux and Camaret-sur-mer.

Fabien Henry and his crew managed to thwart the traps of the course and beat the local young team of Laurent Bréjon on Cotes d’Armor. But Toulon Provence Mediterranee Coychyeres still have a lot to do to come back at the top of the overall ranking, where Ile de France and Defi Partage Marseille are fighting for the first place, and where Matondo Congo – Route de l’équateur just took the third place off Ville de Geneve – Carrefour Prevention.

They had been waiting for this victory since the start of the 2006 Tour de France à la Voile! Toulon Provence Mediterranee Coychyeres sailed a good race, neck and neck with Cotes d’Armor. “The battle was very close,” said skipper Fabien Henry. “We had to hold on and be on top physically because we were upwind all the way down. Now we have to keep going and catch up the points. There is still a lot of races to sail so it’s not over!”

Cotes d’Armor finally finished second. They missed the victory a few miles before the finish, when a seaweed got stuck under their boat, off Pointe Saint Mathieu, near Brest. “We had a very nice time with Toulon, said Laurent Bréjon, the team’s coach and navigator onboard. We did a nice race and managed to increase the gap over the rest of the fleet. We are happy with this result.”