Route du Rhum 2026: course, classes, skippers and records
The 13th Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe starts from Saint-Malo on Sunday 1 November 2026 at 1:02 pm (12:02 UTC). Every four years it puts professional sailors and amateurs on the same start line, alone on board, for an Atlantic crossing to Pointe-à-Pitre. The race village opens in Saint-Malo on 20 October, and the Guadeloupe village on 6 November (official website).
The course
The theoretical distance is 3,542 nautical miles (about 6,560 km). The start line is laid off Pointe du Grouin, near Cancale. The fleet then sails along the Emerald Coast to the Cap Fréhel buoy, left to starboard, before heading out of the English Channel (Côtes d'Armor tourist board).
Between Brittany and the Caribbean the route is free: each skipper picks a track according to the weather. They first have to cross the Bay of Biscay, often rough in November, then find the trade winds that carry the boats west. Before crossing the line in Pointe-à-Pitre, competitors sail around Basse-Terre, the western island of Guadeloupe, leaving it to port. That last stretch, in the lee of the island's mountains, is often decided by a few hours.
Six classes, 115 skippers
As of 12 October 2026, the official website lists 115 skippers in six classes, each with its own ranking. The organisers announced 118 at selection time; the list may still change before the start.
| Class | Skippers | Boats |
|---|---|---|
| Ultim | 8 | Giant trimarans, the fastest boats in the fleet |
| IMOCA | 22 | 60-foot monohulls, the Vendée Globe boats |
| Ocean Fifty | 10 | 50-foot trimarans |
| Class40 | 49 | 40-foot monohulls, the largest fleet |
| Vintage Multi | 13 | 38 to 79-foot multihulls, including former ORMAs |
| Vintage Mono | 13 | Monohulls of 39 feet and over, often former IMOCAs |
The two Vintage categories replace Rhum Multi and Rhum Mono this year. They welcome boats that made offshore racing history but no longer fit today's class rules (Route du Rhum).
Skippers to watch
- Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild) defends his title and record in the Ultim class, up against Thomas Coville, Armel Le Cléac'h and Tom Laperche among others.
- In IMOCA, Jérémie Beyou (Charal), third in 2022, faces Boris Herrmann, Sam Goodchild and Ambrogio Beccaria, who has moved up from the Class40.
- In Ocean Fifty, Erwan Le Roux, winner in 2014 and 2022, has withdrawn for lack of budget, as has Thomas Ruyant, the IMOCA defending champion.
- Francis Joyon, the 2018 winner, is back in Vintage Multi, and Jean Le Cam races in Vintage Mono.
The full list, boat by boat, is in each class article (links in the table above).
The records to beat
In 2022 the winners of four classes broke their category record (Wikipedia, 2022 Route du Rhum; previous records: Figaro Nautisme).
| Class | Holder | Boat | Time (2022) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ultim | Charles Caudrelier | Maxi Edmond de Rothschild | 6d 19h 47m 25s |
| Ocean Fifty | Erwan Le Roux | Koesio | 10d 21h 35m 52s |
| IMOCA | Thomas Ruyant | LinkedOut | 11d 17h 36m 25s |
| Class40 | Yoann Richomme | Paprec Arkéa | 14d 3h 8m 40s |
The story of the outright record, from Mike Birch to Charles Caudrelier, is told in Route du Rhum: the story of the record.
Watching the start and following the race
The best viewpoints, from Pointe du Grouin to Cap Fréhel, are in our guide where to watch the Route du Rhum start in Saint-Malo. After that, the tracker, TV and online game are covered in how to follow the Route du Rhum 2026.
The course, marks and past winners are on the Route du Rhum page of the globe, and the other starts of the year are in the 2026 calendar.