French sailors win transatlantic race

Sailors Thomas Coville and Jean-Luc Nélias have won the Transat Jacques Vabre race, completing the journey from Le Havre to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil in a record time of seven days, 22 hours, seven minutes and 27 seconds.

Coville, who this summer crossed the Atlantic from New York to Lizard Point, Cornwall, in four days, 11 hours and 10 minutes to claim his 17th solo sailing record, and Nélias shaved more than two days off the previous best mark for the France to Brazil challenge, set a decade ago.

Sébastien Josse and Thomas Rouxel crossed the line in second, a hour and 47 minutes behind the winners. The duo had been in the lead until midway through the race, when their 'flying' yacht developed technical trouble.

Connexion spoke to Thomas Coville shortly after he completed his record-breaking Atlantic crossing. You can read his interview here