Sails of Change 8 2nd in the Bol D'or du Léman
by TF35 Trophy 15 Jun 14:11 UTC
14 June 2025
86th edition of the Bol d'Or du Léman © Loris Von Siebenthal
On Saturday, June 14 at 1000, 404 sailboats launched into the 86th edition of the Bol d'Or du Léman. Despite an unexpected breeze during the first hour of the race, patience was required throughout the course to make the most of the very light winds.
After 15 hours, 30 minutes, and 07 seconds of racing, and an arrival in the night, Sails of Change 8, helmed by Yann Guichard, secured its position as the top competitor in the TF35 Trophy (and finished second in the Bol d'Or du Léman, behind Realteam), ahead of ZEN Too and Ylliam 17.
"In the end, it came down to very little. We finished second overall but first in the TF35 championship," confided Yann Guichard. "There is certainly a bit of disappointment because we led for a long time. But that's the beauty of the Bol d'Or: it's a race where nothing is ever guaranteed, and everything can change at any moment. Congratulations to Realteam for their victory."
The conditions for the Bol d'Or du Léman 2025 included scorching heat (33 degreesC), winds fluctuating between 0 and 7 knots, a hazy sky laden with Saharan sand, a glassy lake, and extremely light airs.
A miraculous breeze at the start allowed the TF35s to exit the Petit-Lac within an hour. ZEN Too quickly took the lead and maintained it until reaching Thonon-les-Bains. At that point, Ylliam XII - Comptoir Immobilier, having caught some breeze along the French coast, regained the advantage for a few kilometres until Évian.
This was followed by a long period of calm where every team tried to make the best of the available winds and minimise losses halfway through the race. After almost seven hours of racing, Sails of Change 8 passed the barge at Bouveret, followed by ZEN Too just one minute behind, with over an hour's lead on the other competitors: Sails of Change 10, X-WING, then Ylliam XII - Comptoir Immobilier and Ylliam 17.
"The goal of our race was to sail cleanly, without attempting anything extreme," commented Loïc Forestier, helmsman of ZEN Too. "We had a great race. I'm not really sure what we could have done differently. We make choices as best we can at the moment: sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."
Now the return leg can began; although the wind remained very light and time seemed to pass slowly, the TF35s never completely stopped. Sails of Change 8 and ZEN Too wove along the French coast, with X-WING in their wake. Sails of Change 10 attempted to track along the Swiss coast, but this decision cost them their lead; they were caught by the two Ylliam boats near Évian.
A classic occurrence in this race: the wind dies down at the front... and then comes back from behind. A new reshuffling of positions can happen right up to the finish. As they entered the Petit-Lac, the gaps narrowed. The leaders, ZEN Too and Sails of Change 8, were joined by Ylliam 17 and X-WING, who made a strong comeback. But the Swiss coast eventually paid off, and the elastic stretched again. Sails of Change 8 and ZEN Too regained the advantage. The road was still long, night had fallen, there was complete silence on the Léman, and almost no wind. Shortly after Versoix, Sails of Change 8 took the lead, but ZEN Too stayed close behind. The path to the Société Nautique de Genève seemed endless, and the suspense remained high.
At 0130, the moment of relief finally arrived for Sails of Change 8, which ranked first in the TF35 Trophy for this event, after more than 15 hours and 30 minutes of racing, with an eight-minute lead over ZEN Too, which finished second. Ylliam 17, after overtaking X-WING near Mies, completed the podium. This trio had chosen the C-boards, a wise option in a race that allowed for hardly more than a minute of foiling. Following them were the TF35s equipped with foils: X-WING took a commendable fourth place in its first participation and ranked first among the foilers. Ylliam XII - Comptoir Immobilier, followed by Sails of Change 10, finished their race just a minute apart after more than 17 hours of racing.
Despite very light wind conditions, the TF35s proved they remained competitive and capable of staying at the forefront. In the championship standings, Sails of Change 8 took the lead in the provisional overall ranking with a one-point advantage over Ylliam 17. ZEN Too is in third place, followed by Ylliam XII - Comptoir Immobilier, Sails of Change 10, and X-WING.
The Bol d'Or du Léman marks the end of the first part of the TF35 Trophy season and the beginning of the summer break. The championship will resume on September 11 with the Grand Prix du Mailly.
"We always stayed in the game. It came down to very little in the end, and it was decided in the last moments. Sails of Change 8 had a great race; congratulations to them!" - Loïc Forestier, helmsman of Zen Too.
Full results here