Tour de France à la voile
Tour de France à la voile is an annual yachting race around the coast of France. Inaugurated in 1978, it links the English Channel to the French Riviera and is held in July.
Famous skippers have taken part in the race, including Loïck Peyron and the four time America's Cup winner Russell Coutts. The race is, however, not reserved for professionals, and it also attracts amateurs and students thanks to three distinct rankings.
The race visits around ten harbours along the French coast. It includes one or two day coastal stages - that vary from year to year - as well as intensive regattas at the various ports. The boats are transported by road (trucks) midway through the race from stages held in the Atlantic Ocean to those in the Mediterranean Sea.
Sailboat
Every team sails on the same type of boat so that only the sailing skills of the teams are judged and not the boat engineering. The boats are about 10m long and are designed for racing with a crew of 3 sailors. A few boats replaced each other since the creation of the race:
| Period | Boat type |
|---|---|
| 1978 | Écume de mer |
| 1979–1981 | First 30 |
| 1982–1983 | Rush Royale |
| 1984–1991 | Sélection |
| 1992–1998 | JOD 35 |
| 1999–2010 | Mumm 30/Farr 30 |
| 2011–2014 | M34 |
| 2015– | Diam 24 |
List of previous winners
| Year | Boat Type | Boat Name | Skipper |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | - | Marseille | François Paillou |
| 1979 | - | Dunkerque | Joé Setten |
| 1980 | - | Dunkerque | Damien Savatier |
| 1981 | - | Dunkerque | Damien Savatier |
| 1982 | - | Marseille | Jean-Paul Mouren |
| 1983 | - | Lanvéoc-Navale | Benoît Caignaert |
| 1984 | - | Europe | Philippe Hanin et Dominique d’Andrimont |
| 1985 | - | Côtes du Nord | Yannick Dupetit |
| 1986 | - | Le Havre | Benoît Caignaert |
| 1987 | - | Sète-Languedoc-Roussillon | Pierre Mas et Bertrand Pacé |
| 1988 | - | Sète-Languedoc-Roussillon | Pierre Mas et Bertrand Pacé |
| 1989 | - | Ronic Saône-et-Loire | Richard Sautieux |
| 1990 | - | Wasquehal | Hans Bousholte et Philippe Delhumeau |
| 1991 | - | La Ciotat | Laurent Delage |
| 1992 | - | Sodifac-Roubaix | Jimmy Pahun et Jean-Pierre Dick |
| 1993 | - | Saint-Quentin-en Yvelines | Thierry Péponnet |
| 1994 | - | Saint-Pierre et Miquelon | Alain Fédensieu |
| 1995 | - | Baume & Mercier – Force EDC-Paris | Bernard Mallaret et Vincent Portugal |
| 1996 | - | Edouard Leclerc – Région SCASO | Vincent Fertin |
| 1997 | - | CSC - Sun Microsystems | Bertrand Pacé et Philippe Guigné |
| 1998 | - | Nantes & Saint-Nazaire - Bouygues Telecom | Luc Pillot |
| 1999 | Farr 30 | Kateie | Luc Dewulf |
| 2000 | Farr 30 | Barlo Plastics | Adrian Stead |
| 2001 | Farr 30 | Virbac - St Raphaël - Générali | Jean-Pierre Dick |
| 2002 | Farr 30 | Nantes St Nazaire | Pierre-Loïc Bethet |
| 2003 | Farr 30 | CapSport | Xavier Lecœur et Bernard Mallaret |
| 2004 | Farr 30 | Bouygues Telecom | Pierre Loïc Berthet |
| 2005 | Farr 30 | Toulon Provence Méditerranée COYCHyères | Fabien Henry |
| 2006 | Farr 30 | Région Île de France | Jean-Pierre Nicol |
| 2007 | Farr 30 | Toulon Provence Méditerranée COYCHyères | Fabien Henry |
| 2008 | Farr 30 | Courrier Dunkerque | Daniel Souben |
| 2009 | Farr 30 | Courrier Dunkerque | Daniel Souben |
| 2010 | Farr 30 | Nouvelle-Calédonie | Bertrand Pacé et Vincent Portugal |
| 2011 | M34 | Sud de France/Languedoc-Roussillon | Bertrand Pacé et Vincent Portugal |
| 2012 | M34 | Toulon Provence Méditerranée COYCHyères | Fabien Henry |
| 2013 | M34 | Groupama 34 | Franck Cammas |