“A challenge that unites an entire nation,” France wants to be ambitious for the America’s Cup

Quentin Delapierre will be the tricolor captain for the next edition of the America’s Cup in Barcelona, ​​in 2024, as the French hope to take on the New Zealanders and Americans.

Does France have the weapons to win the America’s Cup in the coming years? Anyway, that’s what it seeks to do with the French Challenge AC75 monohull – renamed the Team Orient Express -, Submitted in February by K-Challenge.

The group aims to win one of the next editions, starting with the 37th edition of the name in Barcelona, ​​in September 2024. To achieve this, Breton Quentin Delapiere (30 years old) will be the captain of the AC75 and will be surrounded by seven members of the team.

After being invited to the Super Moscato show on Tuesday, the Frenchman gave a few details about the 150-year-old event. “We’ll be four cyclists and four aft: two coxswains and maybe two trimmers, a foil and a sail. The cyclists will be on power-producing bikes and they’ll let us turn the foil or the sail. The rudder is mechanical, but we’ve got buttons on it to manage the balance of the boat.”

Challenge “Not only an athlete”

Since its first edition in 1870, America’s Cup has allowed experimentation and work on major technical and technological innovations in naval architecture. Quentin Delapierre does not forget this aspect: “It is a challenge that is meant to be technical, that brings an entire nation around it. It is not just a sport, there is a big part about the engineering and craftsmanship about these boats.”

Since the last release in 2021, monohull boats are back with a new type, the AC75, “boats up to 100 km/h” according to Delapierre. France, for its part, is more ambitious than ever. Talented in overseas racing, she never had great results in competition against the dominant Americans and New Zealanders, the holders of the double title.

“Win it in the thirty-seventh or thirty-eighth edition”

Thus, the tricolor victory in the coming years will be the first: “The Americans, Australians and New Zealanders have managed to stir up controversy about that, and it is true that France needs a project of the America’s Cup. Ambitious, we can win it in the thirty-seventh or thirty-eighth edition.” And so raise the Silver Jug, one of the most prestigious awards in the world of sports.

The former winner chooses the year according to the body of water, so the competition took place a long time ago in the United States in the 20th century. The New Zealand team chose the Barcelona team for the thirty-seventh edition. The challengers compete and then the winner meets the defending champion.

Before trying his luck in 2024, Quentin Delapierre was on the Sail GP circuit, competing in squalid boats. The French crew is Third place in the tournament before the Grand Final which will be held in San Francisco on May 6-7.