Kiel, August 14, 2025 – After four days of repairs, uncertainties, and intense collective effort, Ambrogio Beccaria’s IMOCA “Allagrande Mapei” is back at sea, headed for Portsmouth, England, to be on the starting line for the second leg of The Ocean Race Europe on August 17.
Since the collision on August 10, the “Allagrande Mapei” team, supported by TR Racing, has had to carry out repairs and replacements, as well as organize complex logistics to get materials from Lorient or source them locally in Kiel. While some repairs were quick, others required advanced technical interventions: at many points, the possibility of rejoining the race seemed to vanish.
“We suffered a lot of damage,” explains Ambrogio Beccaria. “The most spectacular is the head sail, the J0 – but in reality, it’s the easiest to fix, as we just had to get another one. The main sail was also taken down and repaired, relatively easy. Then we broke all the starboard rigging: the outrigger, the D0 stay, the D1 stay, and the D2 stay. The stays are not repairable; we had to replace them. The outrigger was repairable, but not within the timeframe, so that also had to be replaced. Once all the cables were changed, the real problem was the composite chainplate. We had Antoine Koch, the architect who designed “Allagrande Mapei,” and GSea Design, the structural engineering firm, intervene to define a repair protocol and ensure we could sail at 100% of the boat’s potential. And this part took a long time: many layers of fabric to apply in a difficult-to-reach area… we even had to dismantle the ballast to do it.
“It was an emotional rollercoaster,” – Beccaria continues – “moving from uncertainty to the concrete possibility of getting back in the race. Today we are overjoyed, super excited… I only have one wish: to get back to sailing!”
A super team
If this return is possible, it is thanks first and foremost to the tireless work of the shore team, who have been busy for a month, ever since the accident at the Course des Caps. “They are exhausted, but it’s incredible to see their resilience, their commitment,” says the Milanese skipper. “Getting back to racing, for me, is like a dream. The moment we are back in the race will be so intense that we will remember it for the rest of our lives. We will be so happy! But for now, we are taking it step by step, with a huge desire to be at sea, make the transfer to Portsmouth and just enjoy ourselves. And then, for me, there’s a small hurdle to overcome… it was my first start at the helm of “Allagrande Mapei,” and the only way to turn the page is to get back out to sea and rediscover the boat!”
Strategic transfer to Portsmouth
Boat repaired, team ready: all that remains is to reach Portsmouth in time for the start of the second leg. “The chainplate repair was completed today,” says Thomas Ruyant, co-skipper of “Allagrande Mapei”. “The outrigger will be reassembled this evening and the team will finish preparing the boat for tomorrow’s departure. The preferred option is to go through the Kiel Canal, which should save us a lot of time, especially with the current weather conditions, with light wind along the Danish coast. We should arrive tomorrow late afternoon at the canal exit to go up the Elbe estuary. The Kiel Canal requires a pilot on board the boat because we have a draft of more than 3 meters; for safety, we will be accompanied by a tender, and for the two locks, we will use a large inflatable fender that we will keep until Portsmouth. Then, the weather is in our favor to quickly reach the Solent channel downwind, which we hope to reach between Saturday evening and Sunday midday. This scenario is excellent news and would allow us to be at the start of the second leg. We sincerely hope that “Holcim-PRB” can do the same. We are closely following their repairs because they are our companions in misfortune at the beginning of this European tour, and we would like to see the entire fleet again to continue The Ocean Race Europe.”
Mapei's unwavering support
For main sponsor Mapei, the repair and return to racing also signify relief and collective pride. “We stayed in Kiel to support the team who, immediately after the incident, set to work to repair the damage and prepare the boat as best as possible,” says Simona Giorgetta, a member of Mapei’s board of directors.“There have been many emotions, and today we are truly excited about this new start. It is the reward for teamwork, for the solidarity between different teams who, despite being rivals in the race, help each other in times of need, for the strength not to give up in the face of difficulties, but to get back up and keep moving forward. These are values that Mapei has always believed in.”
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