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Sailing Dream Team 04 November 2019

Basile Bourgnon: I'm on cloud nine!

After a week's racing in the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandy-Le Havre, at 16:00 on Monday the Edenred Class40 skippered by Emmanuel Le Roch and Basil Bourgnon was in 9th position, 198 nautical miles behind the leader Crédit Mutuel (Ian Lipinski - Adrien Hardy) but, most impressively, first among old generation Class40s. A superb start to the race for Emmanuel Le Roch and Basile Bourgnon, the youngest participant in the event.

Life's a breeze when you're sailing downwind!

At some 2,750 nautical miles from Salvador de Bahia, whereas the first Multi50 has already covered more than half of the course, the Edenred Class40 continues to advance in optimum conditions, reaching speeds of over 11 knots in the trade winds. Choosing to change course slightly eastwards, Emmanuel Le Roch and Basile Bourgnon crossed the Canary Islands archipelago in the early afternoon and are going all out to secure 8th position being less than a nautical mile behind in the 16:00 rankings!

School's still out for Basile with an original excuse for his teachers

For 17-year-old Basile Bourgnon, this transatlantic race is turning out to be an amazing first. Although the young skipper lived on a catamaran for part of his childhood, this is the first time he has spent so much time out racing at sea. This Monday, unlike his fellow students, he didn't make it to high school. "I wrote an excuse for his teacher saying he was on his way to pick up coffee in Brazil," joked Emmanuel Le Roch in his message posted overnight. A young man of few words until now, the youngest participant in the Transat Jacques Vabre could barely conceal his delight when reached by his team this afternoon. He enthused…

"It's better than anything I could have imagined! As expected, crossing the Bay of Biscay proved challenging with 5 boats dropping out but we stuck in there and, most importantly, avoided damage to the boat. Before we set off, I used to think I loved it when the boat smashed through the waves, but that was before [laughs]. Now I'm discovering the sheer thrill of sailing in the trade winds! Right now, we are sailing downwind under a full mainsail and big spinnaker. The boat is surfing the waves and I've got my shirt off with a 15 to 18-knot wind at my back. I feel so lucky! But I'm not here for the ride and here again, I'm so fortunate... The whole strategy thing is fascinating! Our minor change of course eastwards was the right move. For 48 hours, we really closed the gap on our competitors and our aim now is to catch our friends on Vogue avec un Crohn (ed: less than a nautical mile). If someone had predicted 9th position before the start with us leading the old boats, we would have gladly taken that immediately! We're not slacking off and are checking the rankings all the time. We are focusing on the smallest adjustment, the merest detail and it's paying off! It should be said that we're looking out for each other too. We're sleeping really well by doing three-hour shifts, in short, everything's going great! We're having fun and laughing a lot which is making us stronger I reckon! This morning, I spared a thought for my friends who returned to their studies at the IUT after the fall break. I was focused on my race but I now realize just how lucky I am to be part of such an adventure."

The adventure goes on at truedream.edenred.com

About

Edenred is a leading digital platform for services and payments and the everyday companion for people at work, connecting more than 60 million users and more than 2 million partner merchants in 45 countries via close to 1 million corporate clients.

Edenred offers specific-purpose payment solutions for food (such as meal benefits), engagement (such as gift cards and engagement platforms), mobility (such as multi-energy solutions, including EV charging, maintenance, toll and parking) and corporate payments (such as virtual cards). 

True to the Group’s purpose, “Enrich connections. For good.”, these solutions enhance users’ well-being and purchasing power. They improve companies’ attractiveness and efficiency,and vitalize the employment market and the local economy. They also foster access to healthier food, more environmentally friendly products and sustainable mobility.

Edenred’s 12,000 employees are committed to making the world of work a connected ecosystem that is safer, more efficient and more responsible every day.

In 2023, thanks to its global technology assets, the Group managed €41 billion in business volume, primarily carried out via mobile applications, online platforms and cards.

Edenred is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange and included in the following indices: CAC 40, CAC 40 ESG, CAC Large 60, Euronext 100, Euronext Tech Leaders, FTSE4Good and MSCI Europe.

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