1000 Race opens IMOCA Globe Series

The IMOCA season shall kick off in Port-La-Forêt with the start of the 1000 Race on May 3, 2026. Seven skippers will line up to take on a demanding 1000 nautical-mile course, stretching from the Fastnet Lighthouse and onwards towards two waypoints in the Bay of Biscay.

After six months of refit work, preparation, and fine-tuning, this first offshore showdown marks a return to solo racing for the sailors since the 2024–2025 Vendée Globe. It also signals the beginning of a new competitive cycle, following a 2025 season largely dedicated to double-handed and crewed events.

The 2026 edition of the 1000 Race features seven solo sailors all taking on the first IMOCA solo race of the year. Three of the entries have already completed the Vendée Globe – racing solo, non-stop, unassisted around the world – and all of them have the ambition to be on the start line of the 2028 edition.

The 1000 Race [formerly the Bermudes 1000 Race] is the first chapter in a packed solo season that includes the Vendée Arctique-Les Sables d’Olonne in early June and the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe in November. In between these races is The Ocean Race Atlantic, the fully-crewed race from New York, USA, to Lorient, France.

For Sam Goodchild, Violette Dorange, and Arnaud Boissières, the start represents a double comeback: a return to competition and to solo racing—this time aboard the boats that they are still getting to know. Sam Goodchild now helms Macif Santé Prévoyance, launched in 2023 and winner of the last Vendée Globe with Charlie Dalin.

Violette Dorange, who finished 20th in the Vendée Globe, steps up to a new level, moving from a daggerboard IMOCA to a foiling boat. She succeeds Samantha Davies aboard the red IMOCA racing under the Initiatives Cœur colours. Arnaud Boissières, meanwhile, begins a new chapter. After competing in the last Vendée Globe aboard a 2010 VPLP-Verdier design, he has acquired Benjamin Dutreux’s 2015 IMOCA. Now racing under the April Marine banner, he is also seeking a co-partner for the season.

The 1000 Race also offers several skippers the chance to tackle their first solo IMOCA race, in a relatively short format and on familiar waters.

Corentin Horeau, already an accomplished solo sailor with a victory in the 2023 Solitaire du Figaro, takes a significant step forward as he transitions to the IMOCA MACSF (formerly Yoann Richomme’s Paprec Arkéa). A similar challenge awaits Nicolas d’Estais, a seasoned Class40 solo racer, who begins his IMOCA career alone aboard Café Joyeux.

Francesca Clapcich, more accustomed to crewed racing, particularly in The Ocean Race, will make her solo debut and her very first solo race on an IMOCA. Clapcich commented, “The race starts from Port‑la‑Forêt, just a stone’s throw from Lorient, so it almost feels like a home race. We’ll head up to the Fastnet Rock – a legendary landmark in sailing history – then down to the northern tip of Spain and Portugal, and back to where we started in the Bay of Concarneau. The Bay of Biscay can throw anything at you, especially at this time of year, and I’ll be ready for all of it.”

The ambition for Team Francesca Clapcich Powered by 11th Hour Racing is simple: to bring both the boat and the skipper home in one piece. After an intense winter refit, performance upgrades, optimization for single-handed sailing, and unveiling completely new branding, along with the on-water training, the whole team is ready to get Clapcich’s 2026 solo racing calendar underway.

“There are definitely a few butterflies now, just a few days before the start of the Race,” said Clapcich. “The 1000 Race will be my first solo race on an IMOCA, which makes it extra special. I’ve had some great preparation these past few weeks, training alongside my competitors Elodie Bonafus and Violette Dorange with the Port‑la‑Forêt training centre, plus solid sessions with my own team working on solo maneuvers and really pushing the boat to her limits.

“My goal is clear: make no big mistakes, make smart decisions, and finish the race – and for both the boat and myself to come back in one piece! It’s really important for me to build this experience early on in the season, so I can step up to harder and longer races as the year goes on,” Clapcich shared.

On and off the water, Francesca’s mission goes beyond results: building a sailing community where belonging, diversity, and equality are not the exception, but the standard. Clapcich commented, “I’m excited and proud for the whole team that we are finally going racing. Thanks to 11th Hour Racing, we have this incredible new livery which shares our message about our ambition to live in a world where everyone can Believe, Belong, and Achieve. Both on and off the water our campaign is about believing in yourself and being whoever you are, feeling you belong and can be your authentic self, and achieving together as a community. This race is our first opportunity to really show the world that we stand by these values that we proudly carry on our sails.”

Élodie Bonafous, based in Port-La-Forêt for the past five years, knows these waters well. But this race will mark her first time racing solo at the helm of her IMOCA—an important milestone ahead of her major goals this season, including the Route du Rhum in the autumn.

THE LINE-UP 📝
Arnaud Boissières – April Marine – Recherche co-partenaires
Élodie Bonafous – Association Petits Princes – Quéguiner
Francesca Clapcich – 11th Hour Racing
Violette Dorange – Initiatives Cœur
Nicolas d’Estais – Café Joyeux
Sam Goodchild – MACIF Santé Prévoyance
Corentin Horeau – MACSF

Event details: https://www.imoca.org/en

Source: Event media