La Roche-Posay Racing Team call themselves underdogs. But is that that really true when you look at what they’ve built in Lorient? In our latest exclusive access we examine the French Challenger’s strategies for wining the Auld Mug and look back at over 50 years of French America’s Cup history.
France has produced many sailing champions but never an America’s Cup winner. Niall Myant-Best goes inside the French challenger’s base in Lorient to find out whether that’s about to change.
Featuring skipper Quentin Delapierre, sailor Amélie Grassi, Technical Director Antoine Carraz, Sporting Director Philippe Presti, and CEO Stéphan Kandler.
Join us for The Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta Sardinia, May 21st to 24th. The first Preliminary Regatta on the Road to Naples 2027.
Follow Inside America’s Cup for more episodes on the road to Naples 2027.
0:00 Intro
0:36 France’s Sailing Heritage
3:04 Quentin Delapierre: Lessons from Barcelona
10:17 Amélie Grassi: From Offshore to America’s Cup
14:30 Antoine Carraz: Inside the Boatyard
17:57 Philippe Presti: How France Can Win
24:13 Stéphan Kandler: The Underdog Question
29:58 Verdict: Are They Really Underdogs?
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The Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup will be defended in Naples in 2027 by five-time America’s Cup winner, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron represented by their team, @EmiratesTeamNZ .
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17 Comments
J'espère que vous ferez mieux bon courage
Comme je pratique la voile depuis très longtemps est surtout la coupe de l'America rc je ses que ses dur donc bon courage
THey're not the underdogs, they're the laughing stock, the comedy relief.
More teams,more countries the better😊
This style of boat should never have been the permanent replacement for the J class boat. I think it would’ve been fine to start another regatta/series with these rocket ships but they definitely should’ve left the beating heart of the America’s cup alone and left the J boats to battle it out. I believe they transitioned into these newer hulls because they can run the races in a setting that’s more conducive to spectators and television. I don’t know. I just think it’s a shame…..
😢😢😢 IS GOING TO DESIGN A DRON BOAT… NO SAILORS, YUST PC PROGRAM… THE MAN ENJOY SAIL AND WIN THE ADVERSES CONDITIONS !!? THAT IS FOR SHOWS AND SPEND MONEY..!!!!. SORRY I PREFER SAIL!!!
INeOS what happening who owns the boat??????
The two teams I think have the best chance are France and Italy.
I was in Newport and saw their first challenge.
I love that he mentioned Sir Peter Blake.
For 50 years, France has dabbled with the America's Cup, without success. France's results in SailGP are similarly lacklustre. One cannot help but wonder why France has made so little progress at the apex of competitive match racing. There is no doubt the French love sailing. But their approach is not producing encouraging results.
Bill Koch entered the first women's team team in the America's Cup in 1995
I think this is a question every interested French wonders. How come can’t we manage to sail americas cup when we sail everything else well.
What a fantastic episode. This was so insightful. I really find Niall's coverage of sailing and interview style to be exceptional. It reminds me of Ken Read's in-depth analysis and commentary of the AC34, AC35, and AC36. This feels like it bridges the gap between a more hype-driven SailGP style with a more sailor-focused Vendee Globe/Ocean Race style of the offshore competitions. Keep them coming.
This team will do reasonably well, better in my opinion than the British or the Swiss. They're neutralizing variables (start training on time, bring AC caliber sailors to the team, stable leadership) In the end I think how they perform will come down to the foil design that they develop. That's a hard problem for all the teams – do they really have better designers than the other teams? If any team's foils give them a 3-5% speed advantage over broad conditions, that alone will likely make the difference.
The majority of French sailors don't see the point in applying the Formula 1 mentality to sailing. The sense of adventure (Vendée Globe, Jules Verne Trophy, etc.), the culture and myth of the solo sailor (Route du Rhum, Figaro, and again the Vendée Globe, etc.), the "offshore racing" ethos considered more "noble" than pure regatta racing in the minds of French sailors—I can confirm there's a huge cultural difference. Why put so much money into the Cup when financing an IMOCA ensures almost guaranteed media coverage in France? That's also a very French, even very Breton, factor. Is the Cup a pure sporting challenge or an ego contest between a few very wealthy cigar smokers? An Olympic champion recruited for an ACC once told me, "You don't need to feel the wind here, just observe the smoke from the Gran Habanos."
Good luck french team