Five years after his last victory, Daniel Souben and his boat Courrier Dunkerque win the Tour de France Sailing Race. Despite being a favorite, Franck Cammas on Groupama never found the key to dominate the Northerners, despite a small point gap in the final standings.
For the last edition of the M34 monohulls, it needed to be a great edition, a great battle and it was achieved. After three weeks of racing, over 900 miles covered (approximately 1660 km) and a final leg full of suspense, it is Daniel Souben on his monohull Courrier Dunkerque who wins the 2014 edition. A runner-up on many occasions over the years, the Dunkerque native wins his third Tour de France à la voile, the first since 2009.
“The goal was to achieve the hat-trick (2008, 2009, and now 2014) to round off the circle because the monohulls are ending. We have been waiting for this victory for quite a while and we get it against a great opponent (Franck Cammas), it’s pure joy!” smiles Daniel Souben.
Starting from Dunkerque on July 4th, the Northerners’ boat dominated this 37th edition of the Tour de France à la voile from start to finish. Groupama never seemed capable of unsettling Daniel Souben’s team. The absence of the star skipper, Franck Cammas, the reigning champion, held up for the European Championships, was detrimental. He only joined his team at the beginning of the second half of the tour in the Mediterranean at Roses (Spain).
“Managing the team, in Franck’s (Cammas) absence, was more complicated than expected. He has such leadership that, without him, we lacked calm and serenity on some stages.” laments Fabien Henry, number 2 skipper on Groupama.
In the end, Franck Cammas’s Groupama finishes 18 points behind Courrier Dunkerque. Despite a standings dominated by the Northerners, everything depended on the final leg between Hyères and Nice. Groupama’s fourth place was detrimental. Too far behind, it was mission impossible to close such a gap. Also noteworthy is the third place of Oman Sail, a boat composed of half Omanis and half French. It is the first podium in the TDF history for this young and talented team.
