World News – UA – Interview with Alex Thomson before his Vendée Globe challenge: «  Imagine a bus hitting a brick wall without any warning  »

Thomson on his near-fatal whale accident last year, further upgrades to Hugo Boss and staying in England to train

Alex Thomson will wake up in Les Sables d’Olonne on the west coast of France on Sunday morning, having booked his last ‘decent’ sleep for the next 70 days, says a remote and Covid-compliant farewell woman and children and left to become the first non-Frenchman to win the Vendée Globe The Everest of sailing The biggest single-handed race in sport Non-stop, all over the world, without assistance

The 46-year-old from Bangor, North Wales, will do so as a bookmaker favorite, armed with one of the fastest and biggest budget boats in the fleet To say that Thomson’s rise to power went smoothly, however, would be rather under-selling.

Almost exactly 12 months ago, Thomson nearly died in an accident at sea Competing with former Olympic sailor Neal McDonald in the two-handed Transat Jacques Vabre, which follows the historic coffee trade route between the France and Brazil, their boat struck a submerged object – believed to be a whale – and literally came to a stop in its tracks “The deceleration was slightly less than 3G,” recalls Thomson “Imagine a bus hitting a brick wall without any warning You’re like a thrown rag doll” Thomson, who was in the cockpit, was thrown violently forward, ending up under a winch table « I wasn’t wearing a helmet, » he admits « I could have died there and then » He escaped with a chipped elbow

His boat was not so lucky Hugo Boss, Thomson’s ultramodern £ 6million yacht, was left with its keel hanging “We had to cut the hydraulic cylinder, then we sailed for Cape Town- Green without keel, which was a first for me, ”concludes Thomson in a neutral tone.

The repair work, combined with the lockdown, threatened to derail Thomson’s 2020/21 Vendée bid, leaving him short on sailing time but sitting in his Haslar Marina offices in Gosport, weeks before the start, he seems quite happy

“I’d say we’re pretty confident,” he said when asked to rate his chances “They [his French rivals] are faster upwind, we’re faster downwind But that’s that an instinctive feeling « 

Thomson’s confidence comes from the fact that he’s been through this before This isn’t his first rodeo Forced to retire in 2004/5 and 2008/9, he was third in 2012/13 and second in of the last outing when he had the fastest boat and surely would have won without his starboard foil – the «  arm  » that comes out of the side of the hull lifting the boat just out of the water when tilted – being torn off 11 days after a collision with an unidentified floating object Thomson still finished in 74 days 19 h 35 min 15 s, the second best time ever recorded, and only 16 hours behind Frenchman Armel Le Cléac’h

Thomson now trusts the process He supports his instincts He is comfortable being based in the UK compared to the rest of the IMOCA fleet in France « It’s a shitty place to train », he admits of the Solent « Very short, close waves But I’ve always loved being based here In France everyone always moves between teams Like cycling and F1 Doing something in secret is very difficult »

The result is the most radical boat the Vendée has ever seen, intentionally launched later than Charal, the boat owned by rival Jérémie Beyou, widely regarded as the French favorite

Finished in matte black and fluorescent pink, Hugo Boss showcases a host of innovations, from the striking curved sheet concept, to the 20 square meters of non-slip solar panels, to the fully reclining seat that will double as an “I will pass” bed. probably 18 to 20 hours a day on this chair « , he says » We brought in an occupational therapist We tried to find a weightless position « 

Put simply, Thomson is leaving nothing to chance this time Its engineers have reproduced the impact load on the keel of last year’s TJV crash, they installed an infrared device at the top of the mast that they named Oscar (after Thomson’s son) and who can recognize objects in water

In total, there are 320 sensors on board allowing Thomson to sense what is happening to almost any part of his boat while sitting in his chair

Like last time, Thomson will be wearing a « shock watch » which will zap him if he does not respond to his alarm, an occupational hazard when you sleep 20 to 40 minutes every 2 to 4 hours He worked with sports psychologist Ken Way on relaxation techniques, using hypnosis He even worked with Nokia Bells Lab on something called « The Hub », giving fans unparalleled insight into what he is experiencing on his boat; heart rate, sleep, wind speed, boat speed, calories, decibels « Basically anything we thought was interesting »

Covid-19, he insists, does not concern him He has been completely locked up for a week now and has taken all the precautions « I will not test positive », he says « It will be an impossibility » No matter two meters, in the Southern Ocean sailors will be closer to the International Space Station than to any land mass

The truth is that it is difficult to understand what the 33 skippers – including three British in Sam Davies, Miranda Merron and Pip Hare – are about to undertake; the magnitude of what lies ahead Loneliness Deprivation Perhaps this explains why Thomson’s French Navy helicopter hits in the Southern Ocean four years ago went viral It was a rare glimpse of the world solo sailor This also explains why any concession to performance is over, although Thomson is brewing a Soda Stream after finding out that Le Cléac’h had one on board four years ago. I also spy pork scratches in his supplies « We tried to hide this from you, » he jokes « I think I eat one every three days Calories to weight, it is actually the best thing on board « 

It feels like Thomson is really serious this time around He was known to the French as fast but still a little reckless The Showman With his publicity stunts like the Mast Walk and the Keel Walk which garnered millions of hits on YouTube Now he is revered as being quick and extremely serious Thomson even thinks that some of them might secretly want him to win, to do better than what he did last time, better than what that Ellen MacArthur succeeded in 2001, and opens the race to an international audience He admits that the idea of ​​beating the French in what is a national sport for them would give him immense satisfaction. « Of course, Brexit is going to take place during the race », he notes « I just think it would be fantastic if it continued like this and I end up at the Elysee Palace, receiving a Legion of Honor from Macron Devoir giving it to a Briton Can you imagine? « 

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Vendée Globe, Alex Thomson, Voile, Nokia, Yacht racing