Forza Italia! Italians have strength and depth on the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre
Italy are one of the strongest nations in the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre not least because of a ‘scuderia’ of four top level Class40 boats all capable of finishing on the podium in the record sized fleet of 44 which will start their 4600 nautical miles race from Le Havre to Martinique on Sunday.
The Italian group held a press conference for the media today.
The four Class40s skippers are very much following in the wake of Giancarlo Pedote who races in the IMOCA class. Pedote, 47, who finished eighth on the last Vendée Globe, is heading into his fifth Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre on his newly optimised Prysmian Group, sailing with one of the rising stars of French ocean racing, 26 year old Gaston Morvan.
Since he was runner up in the Mini Transat ten years ago, philosophy graduate Pedote raced successfully in the Ocean Fifty class, winning this race in 2015, before competing in Class40 as a stepping stone to the IMOCA, always supported by his long time sponsors Prysmian Group, a global leader in electrical cables.
