Sometimes it is the early legs of La Solitaire du Figaro which shape the final outcome. But it was a brutally tough third stage, back and forth across the Bay of Biscay to the rugged Spanish coast, which decided 2022’s champion.

The 640 miles leg from Royan to Saint Nazaire via Los Farallones on the NW corner of Spain may have been 25 year old French skipper Tom Laperche’s only leg win of this race but his consistency over the first two legs – regularly setting the pace with the peloton – was followed by an outstanding finale showing a true race winner’s superior speed, tactics and decision making complemented by sheer drive and stamina.

Région Bretagne-CMB Performance skipper Laperche – nicknamed ‘La Porsche’ by his fellow Figaro sailors – crossed the finish line into Saint Nazaire last night at 18:54:48hrs local time, standing up and punching the air with delight as he realised that after two third places, the 2022 La Solitaire du Figaro title would be his. He finished 28 minutes ahead of second placed Gaston Morvan (Région Bretagne-CMB Espoir), last year’s rookie prize winner, who took second whilst Elodie Bonafous (Queguiner-La Vie en Rose) finished third.

Ninth and third on the first two legs, Laperche said on the dock in Saint Nazaire “ I believed in this victory and I owned my status as the man to beat. It turns out that the first two stages didn’t go as I hoped until this final finish line. Despite everything, I continued to do things…