40th edition of the Tour de France à la Voile

Nice will host the Grande Arrivée - for the fourth consecutive time - of the Tour de France à la Voile's 40th edition.

To date, 31 Teams have confirmed their participation and others are being finalized. It is therefore an exceptional fleet that will be gathered to celebrate the 40th edition of the Tour de France à la Voile.

On the starting line, on July 7th in Dunkerque, some of the big names in the offshore race are joining the ranks of the Tour such as Paul Meilhat and Kito de Pavant or Bernard Stamm. Olympic and Paralympic athletes have confirmed their participation: Damien Seguin, two-time Paralympic champion and skipper of Team Foundation FDJ - Des Pieds et Des Mains, Sofian Bouvet with Team SFS (7th of the Rio Olympics in 470), Billy Besson with Team Occitanie - South of France (four-time world champion in Nacra 17), Manon Audinet, Félix Pruvot, Sophie de Turckheim, Pierre Leboucher, Noé Delpech (5th in Rio de Janeiro 49er) or Jason Saunders, from New Zealand.

Indeed, attracted by the novelty of the Tour de France à la Voile, Teams and international teammates are increasingly present. Thus, eight different nationalities will be gathered in July: Belgians, Swiss, Omani, Spaniards, Poles, British and, of course, French including Guadeloupe and Tahiti. Also worth mentioning is the female participation with the return of Pauline Courtois and her 100% female team Helvetia by Normandy Elite Team and Elodie-Jane Mettraux who, after the last Volvo Ocean Race aboard Team SCA, returns to her first loves as project manager of the two Teams Ville de Genève - CER.

After the sports format revolution in 2016, year 2017 will confirm alternating water and coast stages, the finale, etc; this formula has proven itself successful and gathered enthusiasm among the Teams.

For more information: http://www.tourvoile.frwww.tourvoile.fr