17/06/13 A TRICKY THIRD LEG FOR JEAN-PIERRE NICOL A TRICKY THIRD LEG FOR JEAN-PIERRE NICOL PHOTO Leg 3 - Gijon - Roscoff - La Solitaire du Figaro 2013 Sunday, 16th June Press release On Saturday night, Jean-Pierre Nicol took 26th place in Roscoff in the third leg of the Solitaire du Figaro, which began in Gijon last Thursday and was won by Morgan Lagravière. The race went much quicker than expected and the skipper of Bernard Jean-Pierre Nicol - Controls paid the price for a strategic mistake early in the race. The fourth and final leg Bernard Controls will start on Thursday with the fleet heading for Dieppe. © A. Courcoux / Bernard Controls The way this third leg in the Solitaire du Figaro developed was highly unexpected. We were (5425ko) anticipating a long race due to an area of high pressure, which was difficult to predict, but Télécharger which was likely to block the way for the forty sailors in the Bay of Biscay. But in the end they covered the 436 miles between Gijon and Roscoff very quickly. Crossing the line at 0130hrs UTC (0330 CET) on Saturday night, Jean-Pierre Nicol took 26th place, after 2 days, 15 hours, 30 minutes and 41 seconds of racing. He was more than three hours behind the top three, Morgan Lagravière, Nicolas Lunven and Xavier Macaire. A result, which was way below what the skipper of Bernard Controls was hoping for and which was largely down to a risky decision taken early in the race: he moved away from the fleet to sail around the high-pressure area via the West. This cost Jean-Pierre Nicol dearly, as those, who sailed to the east, who got out in front. There was then a race under spinnaker where speed was everything. Once past the Isle of Yeu, a mark in the third leg of this event, the smooth sailing gave way to a long, tiring session of upwind sailing Jean-Pierre Nicol - in 25 knot winds and heavy, rough seas. The spinnakers returned once they had passed through Bernard Controls the Sein tidal race and all the way to the finish in Roscoff thanks to a 15-knot SW’ly wind. At © JM Liot / Bernard the back of the fleet at the Isle of Yeu, the skipper of Bernard Controls managed to claw back a few places as they rounded Brittany. In the overall rankings, he is in 21st place before the final Controls 534 mile leg between Roscoff and Dieppe, which is due to start on Thursday. (2677ko) Télécharger Jean-Pierre Nicol’s first reaction in Roscoff: “I was at the rear in Gijón at the start and as I wanted to sail northwards I didn’t have much choice. When the wind shifted to the east, which wasn’t forecast, I got stuck in the calms, while the others made their getaway. I was in last place off the Isle of Yeu, but I managed to catch up the tail enders. I must be doing something right! But it was painful: out of the three legs, this was the only one where the frontrunners extended their lead with the gaps widening all the time. I could see my Solitaire du Figaro slipping away…” Rankings for the third leg of the Solitaire du Figaro between Gijón and Roscoff: Jean-Pierre Nicol - 1. Morgan Lagravière in 2 days, 12 hours, 3 minutes and 55 seconds Bernard Controls 2. Nicolas Lunven 18mins and 10s behind © A. Courcoux / 3. Xavier Macaire 19mins and 15s behind Bernard Controls 4.Fabien Delahaye 19mins and 58s behind 5. Michel Desjoyeaux 20mins and 30s behind (359ko) (…) Télécharger 26. Jean-Pierre Nicol 3h, 26mins and 52s behind Overall rankings for the Solitaire du Figaro (after three legs): 1. Frédéric Duthil in 7 days, 19 hours, 50 minutes and 46 seconds 2. Morgan Lagravière 29mins and 56s behind Download the Press pack : 3. Yann Eliès 32mins and 28s behind 4. Xavier Macaire 45mins and 35s behind 5. Yoann Richomme 1h, 00min and 20s behind (…) 21. Jean-Pierre Nicol 4h, 37mins and 45s behind www.mer-media.com/presse/communiques/A-TRICKY-THIRD-LEG-FOR-JEAN-PIERRE-NICOL.html 1/2 17/06/13 A TRICKY THIRD LEG FOR JEAN-PIERRE NICOL About BERNARD CONTROLS : Télécharger ce BERNARD CONTROLS designs and manufactures electrical actuators and other control technologies. The firm is one of the world leaders in the market for automated industrial valves communiqué au format and dampers. BERNARD CONTROLS has a large international network with 9 subsidiaries in Asia pdf (China, South Korea, Singapore), in Europe (Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy) and in the United States; with regional offices in Dubai and Moscow; as well as more than 50 distributors around the world. Leader in the nuclear industry, BERNARD CONTROLS is also the preferred partner for demanding sectors such as Energy, Water, Industry and the Oil and Gas sector. For the latest news about Jean-Pierre Nicol: www.jpnicol.com and www.bernardcontrols.com You can also keep up to date with the latest news about Jean-Pierre Nicol: Rights free photos: Rights free high definition photos are available exclusively for press use. They may be downloaded via the right hand column. Media contacts Press contact Bernard Controls Alexandra Fontaine T. +33 1 34 07 71 00 [email protected] Press contact Jean-Pierre Nicol Aurélie Feuvrier T. +33 6 23 04 43 18 [email protected] www.mer-media.com/presse/communiques/A-TRICKY-THIRD-LEG-FOR-JEAN-PIERRE-NICOL.html 2/2.