The Tour de France Sailing is a true war machine. Organized by Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.), this event requires a significant structure and considerable resources. In addition to the races on the water, entertainment is at the heart of the village throughout the day.
No, there aren’t just 9 boats sailing around buoys or going from one city to another. The Tour de France Sailing is a colossal structure. Organized by the same company as the Tour de France cycling race (A.S.O.), the event requires months of meetings and tons of logistics.
Eight cities were visited this year during the three weeks of races (one less than in 2014): Dunkerque, Dieppe, Granville, Roscoff, Roses (Spain), Gruissan, Hyères, and finally Nice. At each stage, a village is set up with the following: Race PC, press room, games, sponsor areas, etc.
At the entertainment village, everything is as precisely organized as clockwork. Arriving from Hyères during the night from Thursday to Friday, the organization teams worked tirelessly to set up the entire village in a few hours. Installed at Quai des Etats-Unis until Sunday evening, the village consists of about thirty large tents where the main sponsors (Samsung and Krys) are front and center. Next to them are numerous games for children (basketball, trampoline, climbing on a sail, table tennis…), the giant screen, and the essential stage where the crews are celebrated, and lively evening events take place.
“The public village will allow spectators to follow the race closely (3D regattas) while also offering fun and educational content for both young and old,” enthuses Jean-Baptiste Durier, director of the Tour de France Sailing.
To end this 37th edition in style, the Tour de France Sailing organization created a Stand Up Paddle relay race (a type of surfing done standing with a paddle). A 1500m course was designed in the Bay of Nice with the start on the pebbles of Ponchettes Beach. Thirty-seven teams of 3 people took part, a nice move for the Tour de France Sailing.
At 2 PM, the first relay racers set off, most of them beginners in this still little-known sport. The first teams completed the three relays in 30 minutes, while the last took much longer. All participants had the honor of stepping onto the podium where they received numerous prizes from the major partners of the event.
- Sea, Race, and Entertainment
