Clarisse Crémer responds to accusations

Following news of cheating allegations in the 2020-21 Vendée Globe for which the French Sailing Federation had launched an investigation, competitor Clarisse Crémer is speaking out as one of the two individuals implicated in the matter.

Held every four years, this was her first solo round-the-world race, and after completing the course in 87 days, she became the fastest woman in the history of the Vendée Globe. Her goal for 2024-25 was to improve on her 12th place finish, but she currently is among the 44 candidates seeking one of the 40 entry slots. Here are her words:

I want to respond to the recent accusations that have been brought against me in the last few days.

I learned about the opening of an investigation by the Fédération Française de Voile about the WhatsApp exchanges I had with my husband (Tanguy Le Turquais) during the Vendée Globe 2020.

These exchanges took place on my boat phone, owned by my former team, which I left accessible to all as soon as I landed in accordance with the rules. I never cheated, I never had any desire to break a rule during this 87-day world tour.

During our exchanges, which are mainly related to the intimacy of a couple, Tanguy never gives me any information that I didn’t already have. No conversation with him made me change course or make a strategic choice that would have impacted my race. I have always made all my performance choices alone and unassisted according to the rules.

I’m appalled at the echo that anonymous denunciations can have without even questioning the statutory basis, nor the context of those posts. I am outraged at how these screenshots are pinched to draw hasty and false conclusions, which completely bypass official investigations, and are already hurting us.

Three years after the end of Vendée Globe, we can only wonder about the motives and timing of this anonymous disclosure and we reserve the right to make a complaint if necessary. For my part, I am of course at the disposal of the Fédération Française de Voile and Vendée Globe to analyze our exchanges in full transparency.