Allagrande Mapei Racing
Route du Rhum 2026
Saint-Malo › Pointe-à-Pitre · 1 November 2026
The race
The Route du Rhum is one of the most legendary races in offshore sailing. Held solo every four years from Saint-Malo to Pointe-à-Pitre, it covers more than 3,500 miles across the Atlantic. Since 1978, it has drawn thousands of spectators to the start in Saint-Malo and over a million along the route all the way to the Caribbean finish.
The IMOCA class is the pinnacle of the competition: the most extreme boats, the strongest sailors, the most complex strategies. A solo transatlantic without assistance that demands the highest levels of physical, technical and meteorological preparation.
Saint-Malo → Pointe-à-Pitre · 3,542 nautical miles
Route du Rhum 2026 — Official teaser
The season's main objective
The Route du Rhum 2026 is the main objective of the season for Allagrande Mapei Racing. Everything that came before — the Vendée Arctique, the Défi Azimut — points towards this race, where progress is truly measured, where boat and skipper are judged by the ocean alone.
Ambrogio Beccaria already knows this route. In 2022, in his first Route du Rhum in Class40, he finished second. A remarkable result for a first attempt, against one of the strongest fleets in the class. Four years later he returns to the start line in Saint-Malo, on a completely different boat and with a full IMOCA season behind him.
Key dates
- 20 September 2026Qualification deadlineFinal date for qualifying route validation
- 22 September 2026Press conferenceFinal entry list announced
- 20 October 2026Village opensSaint-Malo — open to the public
- 21 October 2026IMOCA paradeBoat parade in Saint-Malo
- 25 October 2026Skippers' presentation16:00 local time · Official evening
- 31 October 2026SAS — IMOCA departureWeather briefing / start at Palais du Grand Large
- 1 November 2026
13:02Route du Rhum start - 13 November 2026First prize-giving ceremonyGuadeloupe — for skippers already arrived
- 20 November 2026Second prize-giving ceremonyGuadeloupe
- 3 December 2026Finish line closes
The Saint-Malo village
Open map in a new tab ↗Interview with Ambrogio — 2 October 2026
Does it feel like going back to a race you know, or discovering a completely new one at the start of the Route du Rhum?
A bit of both. Actually no — I have more of a feeling of going back to something I know. The first time I did it, four years ago, I was very anxious about not knowing what the Route du Rhum really was. Now I know. So it's not more relaxing, because I know it's very demanding. But yes, it feels more like doing something familiar.
What has changed the most since last time? You, the boat, or your competitors?
I'll rank them: the boat, me, then the competitors. Starting with the boat. In the Route du Rhum four years ago, I took fourteen days. This time we'll do ten. That changes everything. It's a foiling boat, much bigger. I also find it less stressful to sail in heavy weather, because it's built for going around the world, for handling truly extreme conditions. A Class40 isn't quite the same. And on top of that, this boat has already done a lap of the world, whereas four years ago I had a boat I'd only done the qualifier on. It was brand new.
Then me: I've changed quite a lot. The Route du Rhum was kind of my first real professional race, you could say. Since then I've gained a lot of experience.
And the competitors — I don't think they've changed much. Because in Class40, four years ago, there was already an incredibly high level.
Four years ago you'd just won the Mini. It was your first big project after that, your first race with a new sponsor, Pirelli. You had a new boat, a new plan, something to prove. Is that still the case this year?
Much less so. Four years ago it was the first race with that boat and, as you say, with a big sponsor. Whereas now, with Mapei, we've been sailing together for a while. Four years ago I really felt the anxiety, the pressure to perform. Now much less, because I've already performed: this year I've already won a race, and in the other one I finished second. Then again, it's still a race. You can break everything after a day and it's over. But all things considered, the season wouldn't be so bad, because I've already won a race.
Do you feel the Route du Rhum starts on race day, when you leave the dock, or has it already started?
I've already left. Since yesterday. Yes. Because yesterday was my birthday with friends, and I wanted to be present for that moment with them. But in truth, my head is already gone. I can't really take time for these things on land with a relaxed mindset anymore.
I recall hearing you say you'd never been as prepared for a race. In what areas do you feel ready?
In terms of knowledge of the boat. I've never sailed so much on a boat before heading into a race like this. I feel we've done so many things to improve the boat, so that I know it better, handle it well, and it's reliable. And I find myself with so many automatic responses on a boat I haven't been sailing solo on for very long. But I've sailed so much that I feel super ready from that point of view. For performance, for all of it.
The broader project, year by year: 2025 discovery and learning, 2026 testing, 2027 developing, 2028 achieving. Do you see it that way? And doesn't it take some of the pressure off the Rhum, since it's part of a bigger project pointing towards the Vendée Globe?
2026 is also a big discovery year. But no, because then it puts too much pressure on the Vendée Globe! No — the Route du Rhum is an important race. You can't hide behind a bigger plan and tell yourself it doesn't really matter because it's just a step. I genuinely want to go all in. That's also why we decided to do this revolution on the boat this year. Because the Rhum is a mega important race. The result you get in the Route du Rhum means something. I'd finished second last time. We wanted to give ourselves every possible means to try to win it. So yes, there's pressure. But ultimately, we have the ambition to do it — so it's good to have a bit of that.
When you cross the line in Guadeloupe, what will make you say: that was the race I wanted to sail?
It'll be the details. The small details that will tell me whether I sailed a good race or not. Saying that in advance is impossible. Then again, the number next to your name in the standings is still what counts most.
The details — like the small strategic choices?
Yes, yes. The small gybe at the right moment under that cloud, the right sail choice at the right time, how you manage your energy, or how you fixed that small thing, how you got past a problem that could have killed your race. When we study the weather for a race like this, we always try to figure out where it's going to be decided. And in truth, it's impossible to know in advance. It's a game where it's almost impossible to know what will make you succeed or not. But that's sport, and in the end it's quite clear-cut.