British solo sailor Alex Thomson will not compete in the next edition of the Vend\u00e9e Globe, but will throw his support behind another skipper. He also has not ruled out making a return in 2028.Photo: Anthony Jones \/ Lloyd ImagesBritish sailor Alex Thomson has announced he won\u2019t compete as a skipper in the 2024 Vend\u00e9e Globe, the solo, non-stop race around-the-world, but doesn\u2019t rule out returning to the race in 2028.
\nAlex Thomson is one of the most immediately recognisable IMOCA 60 skippers, and also one of the very few sailors who have managed to transcend the sport and become a near household name.
\nThe British sailor has competed in the IMOCA circuit for 19 years, including five successive Vend\u00e9e Globe races and two podium finishes, as well as numerous world records.
\nBesides the Vend\u00e9e Globe, which has always been the event upon which Thomson has been most focussed, the larger-than-life character has pushed the envelope of what can be expected of a skipper in terms of a headline sponsor\u2019s expectations and marketing return.
\nPhoto: Christophe Launay
\nHis 18-year collaboration with Hugo Boss has become the defining sailor \/ sponsor partnership. Not for nothing has it long been seen as the gold standard relationship of what a British offshore racer can offer a multinational \u2013 the Hugo Boss sponsorship deal has survived three different CEOs and CMOs (chief marketing officers) at the German luxury goods brand.
\nAlex Thomson has done mid-ocean live link-ups with BBC Breakfast news, millions have watched his Keelwalk, Mastwalk and Skywalk videos on social media, he\u2019s hung out with Lewis Hamilton and appeared in glossy magazines like GQ, all with highly visible, recognisable and stylish Hugo Boss branding.
\nThomson\u2019s famous Mast walk stunt. Photo: Mark Lloyd \/ Lloyd images
\nHowever, Alex Thomson has also delivered serious results, including two podium finishes in the toughest single-handed race of all.
\nArticle continues below\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlex Thomson profile: Understanding the man behind the suit<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEveryone knows Alex Thomson. He\u2019s not only one of the most immediately recognisable IMOCA 60 skippers, but one of the\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHugo Boss: Sailing on board Alex Thomson\u2019s \u00a36million foiling machine<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u201cWhat\u2019s my speed? What\u2019s the speed? What\u2019s the boatspeed now?!\u201d Alex Thomson hollers into a microphone. Thomson, at the helm\u2026<\/p>\n
The British sailor burst onto the offshore racing scene as the wunderkind who became the youngest ever skipper to win the Clipper Round the World Race in 1999 aged just 25. After a fallow period in which he suffered a series of gear damage, notably retiring from both the 2004 and 2008 Vend\u00e9e Globe races, he went on to finish 3rd in 2012.
\nFamously, Alex Thomson said that the 2016\/17 Vend\u00e9e Globe race would be his last. However, after the event, which saw his best finish \u2013 a 2nd to Armel Le Cl\u00e9ach\u00a0despite suffering an early breakage of a key foil \u2013 he was inspired to give the race another shot.
\nBut the Vend\u00e9e is a fickle beast and in the most recent edition of the race, Thomson\u2019s radical Hugo Boss suffered serious structural problems and a rudder failure forcing him to retire and divert to Cape Town.
\n\u201cFor the best part of 20 years this race has been my goal; we\u2019ve come pretty close before and this time I really thought it was possible,\u201d said a distraught Alex Thomson at the time. \u201cI have the boat of my dreams, we put together a campaign I\u2019m extremely proud of and despite the setbacks of the last week I still thought it was possible \u2013 to win, or at the very least finish.
\nThomson in the Southern Ocean during the 2016\/17 Vendee Globe. Photo: Marine Nationale
\n\u201cI\u2019ve given my life to this sport and it\u2019s a very difficult pill to swallow.\u201d
\nGiven his previous announcements on stepping down it is, perhaps, no surprise that the Brit is not going to take part in the next edition of the Solo Round the World Race.
\n\u201cI have had the privilege to compete and race IMOCA 60s for almost 20 years. I love the sport but it\u2019s now time for me to spend more time on land, with my young family,\u201d Thomson has said of his decision.
\n\u201cMy wife Kate has single-handedly raised our children for the last 10 years whilst I have pursued my dream. Now I want to support Kate and allow her the same opportunity that she has given me. This doesn\u2019t mean that I am retiring, just changing my role, from spending most of my time at sea, to spending more of it on land.\u201d
\nAlthough he is now to stand aside as a skipper for the Vend\u00e9e, Thomson is by no means stepping away from the sport of sailing and offshore racing entirely.
\nThomson on his most recent Hugo Boss IMOCA 60. Photo: Alex Thomson Racing
\n\u201cAside from being a skipper, I have always believed that it is my role to be an ambassador for our sport, telling the story to an international audience,\u201d he says.
\n\u201cIn the last 20 years we have sailed to every corner of the globe, from Russia to Mexico, Canada, Australia, and Taiwan and even up the River Yangtze to Shanghai, China!
\n\u201cThere is a huge global fanbase who follow and love the Vend\u00e9e Globe. I want to continue to promote the sport, tell the story and share my knowledge and experience, but with a focus on the next generation.\u201d
\nThomson and his team 5 West Ltd will remain together, \u201cThe goal has always been to win the Vend\u00e9e Globe, which to me remains the toughest sporting challenge left in the world today, and we haven\u2019t accomplished that yet. This is the start of a new chapter, with a new skipper, and we will provide him or her with all the tools, knowledge, experience and environment to win.\u201d
\nThe question will now be, who will be the skipper to replace Thomson in the quest to win the 2024 Vend\u00e9e? Thomson has always been a proud Brit and has resisted the urge to base himself and train over the channel amongst his French competitors with their vast wealth if expertise and knowledge in the offshore solo racing scene.
\nWhoever, the new skipper is, they will certainly benefit from the years of racing, boat building and marketing expertise that have been built over the years from Thomson\u2019s professional and well-prepared operation and\u00a0so will almost certainly go into the next cycle of the Vend\u00e9e Globe as a key entry to watch.<\/p>\n
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The post Alex Thomson stands down as Vend\u00e9e Globe skipper appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
British solo sailor Alex Thomson will not compete in the next edition of the Vend\u00e9e Globe, but will throw his support behind another skipper. He also has not ruled out making a return in 2028.Photo: Anthony Jones \/ Lloyd ImagesBritish … <\/p>\n