"I am very proud of the team's work and I have confidence in the technical choices we have made. The initial results are impressive, particularly the weight reduction, and I really like the idea of having profoundly modified the boat to truly adapt it to my needs. But the most incredible thing is the energy the team has put into this shipyard. I've never had a large team working for me, at most one or two people. Here, however, there are many of us, and I feel a truly beautiful energy, both today and for the future."

"Crossing the polar circle is symbolic for me: we will go very far north, to places where one normally doesn't sail. That's what's beautiful about ocean sailing: no matter how much you prepare in training and configure the boat for certain conditions, you never really find the conditions you'll encounter in the race. The Vendée Arctique is a good example of this: we will sail in waters and conditions that are truly unusual for us.

For me, it will be the first time crossing the polar circle, and I will do it before my first equator crossing. Usually it's the other way around.

From a strategic point of view, it completely changes our habits. We are used to routing to find the fastest route from point A to point B. This time, not knowing exactly point B, we can still more or less define how to be the first to reach the polar circle, but this does not mean that we will be in the best position for the return. This will be the key to the strategy: finding the route and the crossing point on the polar circle that optimizes both the outbound and return journeys. And neither our instruments nor our habits are designed for this. It will be a great exercise that interests me greatly."