Orient Express Racing Team unveils the group of sailors aboard the AC40 and AC75
Since February 2 and the announcement of the participation of Orient Express Racing Team, the official challenger in the 37th America’s Cup, the team of Stephan Kandler and Bruno Dubois has been working behind the scenes to get this sporting and technological challenge underway, with around fifty people with a wide range of skills and expertise. The French team, which has received the support of the Minister for Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, is focused and well on track, with an AC40 underway from August, an AC75 under construction in Brittany, teams selected for the Youth and Women’s Amercica’s Cup, and a group of sailors already training on simulators. So, who exactly are the hopefuls to fly the flag for the nation in the preliminary regattas, the challenger series and the 37th America’s Cup?
While an AC40 requires the presence of 4 sailors – 2 helmsmen and 2 trimmers – on board an AC75, there are 8 sailors operating, including 4 cyclists who will have to supply all the energy to keep the systems running. The Orient Express Racing Team’s sports team, made up of Bruno Dubois, Thierry Douillard, sports coach, and Quentin Delapierre, as well as physical trainer Killian Philippe and mental trainer Thomas Sammut, share with us the fruits of their labours.
Helmsmen and trimmers from the world of sailing
Bruno Dubois, co-director of the Orient Express Racing Team, in charge of the sailors: “For the helmsmen and trimmer positions, we started with a group of sailors who know each other and who are already racing together on top quality international circuits such as the SailGP circuit. This group works hard together to be at the top of their game, whether in terms of technical cohesion, physical fitness or mental strength. This should be an asset when it comes to getting to grips with sailing the America’s Cup boats and performing as quickly as possible.
On this basis, Quentin Delapierre et Kevin Peponnet are the expected helmsmen aboard the Orient Express Racing Team boats, which will also include François Morvan et Matthieu Vandame setter positions.
Bruno Dubois : « In addition, thanks to the simulator set up by Benjamin Muyl’s team, we are also seeing other sailors with interesting profiles joining the ranks, such as Jason Saunders, to the position of setter. »
Cyclists to deliver watts
The specifications of the AC75, on board which energy is not supplied by machines but by people, mean that it is necessary to complete the quartet of sailors (helmsmen and trimmer) with cyclists, people who have the capacity to develop watts over the whole of a regatta and during manoeuvres.
Killian Philippe, fitness trainer : « To meet the operating requirements of an AC75, which has to produce and maintain energy in the accumulator, we have therefore identified target power values over the 20 minutes of a race, per athlete, and also maximum powers to be achieved during manoeuvres, where we need explosiveness over a few seconds.
With this in mind, I contacted athletes from different backgrounds who were performing well in their discipline. We brought the candidates together in Quiberon, at theENVSN, in order to assess their cycling performance, their ability to produce high ‘wattage’ over 20 minutes and their explosive capacity on the bike cranks. This enabled us to define two types of profile linked to endurance on the one hand, and explosiveness on the other. In addition, of course, we put them through a whole series of anthropometric, morphological and physical tests, etc. »
Au poste de cyclistes, sept personnes ont été retenues :
– 2 sailors : Olivier Herlédant et Tim Lapauw
– 4 multiple medal-winning rowers : Germain Chardin, Antoine Nougarede, brothers Rémi and Thibaut Verhoeven
– 1 CrossFitter : Maxime Guyon
The road to the Challengers Series in September 2024, which will give access to the final match and the 37e America’s Cup, is still a long way off. The work that has been going on behind the scenes since the announcement of the participation of the French Challenger, Orient Express Racing Team, will continue, whether through the simulator sessions, or in situ by sailing aboard the AC40 from mid-August on the Barcelona race course; then, in May 2024 aboard the 37e America’s Cup, l’AC75. « This group of prospective sailors will evolve and be enriched by new talent. In addition to their training, each of them will be able to count on the expert eye of Franck Cammas, who is working alongside us. », concludes Bruno Dubois.
Franck Cammas, performance unit : « My role within the Orient Express Racing Team is to act as a link between the sailors and the design and technical teams, in the interests of performance. To be competitive, you need a well-designed boat and a crew who know how to use it and understand how it works. To achieve this, there needs to be good communication between the departments, so that we can refine and adjust the way we use the boat beyond the models, taking into account how the sailors feel. »
What has happened within the Orient Express Racing Team since the announcement of its participation in the 37th America’s Cup? ?
Stephan Kandler, co-director of Orient Express Racing Team : « The last five months have been devoted both to the order for an AC40, which will arrive in Barcelona at the beginning of August, and to the construction of an AC 75, entrusted to various French service providers, who already excel in terms of skills and who, thanks to this project, are going to take their know-how and that of everyone involved up a notch. This technological challenge, which will enhance the knowledge and economic benefits of the French maritime industry, is just as important as the sporting performances..
In addition, part of the team will be moving to Barcelona at the beginning of August, and version 1 of our base is currently under construction.
Alongside these technical aspects, we set about building our team. The men and women are the heart of the reactor. In addition to the technical, design, performance and support departments, our team is made up of three sailing teams: the women, the young people and the official Challenger. In collaboration with the Team France association and the French Sailing Federation, we have identified and selected the French teams for the Youth and Women’s America’s Cup, which were presented in May.
With just a few weeks to go before we set sail for the first time aboard our AC40, a group of prospective sailors are already working on the simulator at the ENVSN, an institution that reports to the French Navy. Minister for Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games who supports our stable.
Next big step, In August, we’ll be in Barcelona to set up the team in the Catalan capital and sail aboard the AC40 Orient Express for the first time.”
Mrs Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, Minister for Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games
« “The École Nationale de Voile et des Sports Nautiques will be the training base for Quentin Delapierre and the sailors around him. This incredible place of innovation and training is conducive to quality training in a calm environment. I’m delighted to be able to support the French team competing in the 37th America’s Cup, the oldest and most prestigious international competition, which will be held in 2024 in the wake of the Jeux de Paris 2024.»
The group of potential sailors aboard the AC40 and AC75 Orient Express Racing Team: AC40 and AC75 helmsmen Quentin Delapierre 30 years old – F50 France SailGP Team 2019 driver – Nacra 17 World Cup winner in 2018 and 2016 – Tour de Voile Diam 24 winner
Kevin Peponnet 32 years old – Wing France SailGP team Winner of the 470 World Championship in 2018 – AC40 and AC75 trimmer François Morvan 40 years old – Flight controller France SailGP Team Great multihull specialist Matthieu Vandame 41 years old – Grinder France SailGP Team 2017 America’s Cup Groupama Team France – World Champion in Formula 18 and GC32 Jason Saunders 33 years old – Winner of the Youth America’s Cup in 2013 – AC40 and AC75 trimmer 2 Olympic campaigns in 2012 (5th in 470) and 2016 (4th in Nacra) AC75 Cyclists Olivier Herlédant 42 years old – Sailing 2017 America’s Cup Groupama Team France Grinder SailGP Tim Lapauw 26 years old – Sailing 2017 Youth America’s Cup Team France Grinder SailGP Maxime Guyon 45 years old – Crossfitter CrossFit Master World Champion (only French to date) – Crossfit Veteran 2021 Germain Chardin 40 years old – Rowing Bronze at the 2008 O. Olympics 2008 – Silver Olympics 2012 Antoine Nougarede 30 years old – Rowing French University Champion Rémi Verhoeven 33 years old – Cyclist/Rowing French Rowing Team – Semi-pro Cyclist Thibaut Verhoeven 30 years old – Rowing 2016 Olympics – Recordman 100 km rower
About us :
Orient Express Racing Team is the official French Challenger in the 37th America’s Cup, led by Stephan Kandler and Bruno Dubois and supported by the Accor Group and its Orient Express and Bruno Dubois brands. ALL.COM
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K-Challenge, founded in 2001 by Stephan Kandler, joined in 2021 by Bruno Dubois, is the world’s leading sport-tech company, bringing together the best French sportsmen and women, engineers, technicians and experts with the ultimate goal of winning the greatest international sailing competitions, including the oldest sporting trophy in the world: the America’s Cup.
Mastering this ultra-competitive and unpredictable environment is what stimulates our creativity and our capacity for innovation. The Sport-Tech K-Challenge is therefore a veritable incubator of talent and the ideal crucible for the development of major innovations.
Supported by the French Sailing Federation and the Ministry of the Sea, a spectacular programme and a top-level technical and sporting package lasting several years (including revolutionary French technology) have been put in place to finally win these trophies and develop major innovations in the field of mobility and the ecological transition.
A real marketing BOOSTER, our 360° platform enables our sponsors to showcase their brands on a global level and unite their employees around the intrinsic values of our sport: excellence, team spirit, environmental protection, innovation, etc.
A high-performance incubator, K-Challenge sport-tech offers investors a return on investment boosted by diversified revenues: movable and immovable assets, sponsorship, intellectual property, high-level training, software, patents, sports franchises and new technologies.
