Loick Peyron (Gitana-Eighty) slipped behind fellow Frenchmen Jean Le Cam (VM-Matériaux) for less than 24 hours before reclaiming the leadership of the race.
Leader of the Vendée Globe race since Thursday, Loick Peyron (Gitana Eighty) has slipped behind fellow Frenchmen Jean Le Cam (VM Matériaux) and Sébastien Josse (BT), who both opted for eastern routes off the Cape Verde.
France's Loïck Peyron (Gitana-Eighty) who ran the first Vendée Globe in 1989, leads the gruelling race on Sunday in front of Jean Le Cam (VM-Matériaux) and Sébastien Josse (BT) ahead of the Cape Verde and the doldrums.
France's Loïck Peyron (Gitana-Eighty) leads the Vendée Globe race on Saturday in front of Jean Le Cam (VM-Materiaux). The leading pack sailed off the Canary Islands shores under mild winds.
English skipper Alex Thomson was forced to U-turn towards the race's starting line after he found a transverse crack running five metres through his yacht's outer and inner skin. The boat won't be repaired in time for the restart deadline.
After their ordeal in the Gulf of Gascony, skippers led by Frenchman Jean-Pierre Dick (Paaprec-Virbac) were met by favourable 15-18 knot winds off the Portuguese shores. Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) joined the race after his boat was repaired.
In this edition: Former presidential candidate Ségolène Royal is in focus as the Socialists choose a new leader, Obamania reaches France, and we profile one of two women racing in the Vendée Globe, Samantha Davies.
Vendée Globe's 2000-2001 winner Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) is back in the race after he was forced to dock to repair his boat. Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac ) took the lead off Spain's Cape Finisterre, as forecasters announced milder weather.
Marc Guillemot, a first time competitor in the round-the-world Vendée Globe, was at the head of the 30-boat field at the start of the gruelling 24,000-mile solo yacht race.
The daring sailors taking part in the round-the-world yacht race Vendée Globe set off from France's Atlantic coast on Sunday. The initial conditions - high winds, choppy water, and reduced visibility - already present a challenge.
