Loïck Peyron: "Skippers are the stuff of our dreams. We need to say 'thank you' as well as 'bravo"

Oh yes, I think so. There has been an incredible, obvious material evolution. Since the first edition, things have changed considerably. That doesn't mean we were slow. We were at the fastest we could be at the time. It was already fast, in fact, but this time, it's incomparable. There is a clear level of reliability that is quite astonishing, with amazing average speeds despite sea conditions that are not ideal - and that's normal because it is never ideal. I am impressed by the level of preparation of the teams and especially by the way in which the sailors manage to keep their machines intact. They know how to maneuver. The average level of sailors is incomparably higher, in all levels of our discipline. The paths are now marked out. There are far fewer errors today and fortunately that is the case. Routing software has progressed enormously. Weather forecasts too obviously. All this explains that even if with fast boats we can also still go very fast in the wrong direction. 

Yes and this has been the case for at least two editions. As soon as we are at more than 15 knots on average, we are in what we do on a multihull. It changes everything. It allows us to extract ourselves, to anticipate. Unfortunately, these speeds also mean that we catch up with weather systems and stumble upon them. For decades, we have suffered them and now we are catching up with them. When something comes to you from astern, you can anticipate, but when you catch up with something, you can't. That's the whole problem for Jérémie Beyou, who rightly complains about the conditions. He clearly belongs to the group of the unlucky ones in the South. The same goes for the girls, Sam Davies and Clarisse Crémer. For them, under New Zealand, it wasn't fun either.

When you break a record today, it's because the conditions are perfect and therefore it's easy. It's in no way a measure of performance in a dangerous sea state, a sail change or a gybe. 615 miles is obviously astronomical, but paradoxically, it's not an extra effort. It’s like with any car: you put your foot down because you’re sure to be on a long straight. The power of the engine allows you to achieve records, but everything changes as soon as you have to negotiate a bend. That doesn’t take anything away from the value of the sailors, quite the contrary. It especially adds to the value of the architects, the shipyards, the master sailmakers and the preparers who make sure the sailboats are able to withstand that.

The big change, I think, is the race, that is the level and the intensity. That’s been the case for a few editions already. We saw it four years ago, but now it’s permanent. The rhythm doesn’t change. A little bit in the South sometimes, and even then. Not so long ago, we were racing in the Atlantic, surviving a bit in the South and racing again going back up. No, there is no particular change. The pace is always the same. They are almost constantly on the ball. Despite everything, what we see from the outside is the feeling of freshness, once again, of those in front. It's like in marathons: the guy who runs the fastest looks the freshest while the one behind seems to make more effort. That means that the first ones are doing their job well.