Alex Thomson has announced that his team will buy the Banque Populaire IMOCA 60 on which Clarisse Cremer was due to compete before she was controversially dropped by sponsors earlier this yearApivia, the IMOCA upon which Cremer was due to compete in the next Vendee is not yet available to sail. Photo: Pierre BourasBritish four-time Vend\u00e9e Globe competitor\u00a0Alex Thomson\u00a0has announced that his team has agreed to purchase the IMOCA 60\u00a0which Clarisse Cremer was set to race in the 2024 Vend\u00e9e Globe before she was controversially dropped by the team.
\nWhen Cremer lost the backing of the French banking giant earlier this year, the story made headlines far beyond the French offshore racing community. The skipper claimed she had been dropped by the team due to the impact of her pregnancy on her training and qualification schedule, something Cremer says her sponsors aware of when they re-signed her to race for Banque Populaire for the second time in the 2024 Vend\u00e9e Globe.
\nCremer was due to skipper the current Apivia, FRA 79\u00a0\u2013 widely considered the fastest IMOCA 60 in the fleet of the most recent generation. The Guillaume Verdier design was built by CDK with input from Francois Gabart\u2019s MerConcept and launched in 2019.
\nCremer onboard the previous Banque Populaire IMOCA. Photo: IMOCA.org
\nPrevious skipper Charlie Dalin sailed Apivia to\u00a0cross the finish of the 2020\/21 Vend\u00e9e Globe in 1st place, and also took 1st in the 2019 Transat Jacques Vabre in 2019, and 2nd in the Route du Rhum at the tail end of 2022, his last race in the IMOCA.
\nDalin is due to launch a new IMOCA later this year, while Cremer was scheduled to begin sailing FRA 79 in Banque Populaire\u2019s colours.
\nHowever, following the controversy surrounding Cremer\u2019s dismissal, Banque Populaire announced it would drop out of the 2024 Vend\u00e9e Globe altogether. This left the boat effectively back on the market \u2013 and the hottest property in the over-subscribed IMOCA fleet, with both race-ready competitive boats and new build slots currently extremely hard to find.
\nVia Twitter, Thomson announced on Tuesday 21 March:
\n5 West Ltd, represented by Alex Thomson, has reached an agreement to purchase the IMOCA 60 owned by Team Banque Populaire.
\nA similar message was sent out on their social media channels by Banque Populaire which stated:
\nTeam Banque Populaire has signed an agreement to sell its IMOCA with the company 5 West Ltd represented by Alex Thomson, as part of a project that would allow an upcoming skipper to participate in the Vend\u00e9e Globe aboard this ship. [Banque Populaire] wishes Alex and his team success in this new challenge.
\nThe announcement raised much speculation about which upcoming sailor might be skippering the new acquisition. Thomson\u2019s team are supporting newcomer Scott Shawyer and Canada Ocean Racing in his goal to reach the 2028 Vend\u00e9e Globe, though there has also been plenty of conjecture from fans who hoped to see Cremer return as skipper of the boat for the 2024 Vend\u00e9e.
\nYachting World contacted Alex Thomson Racing to find out more about their plans for the IMOCA and the forthcoming race cycle, but they are remaining tight lipped for the time being. We\u2019ll update more when we have it.<\/p>\n
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Alex Thomson has announced that his team will buy the Banque Populaire IMOCA 60 on which Clarisse Cremer was due to compete before she was controversially dropped by sponsors earlier this yearApivia, the IMOCA upon which Cremer was due to … <\/p>\n