The countdown to the 12th Route du Rhum is upon us, on Sunday, November 6th at 1:02 pm the race will start in Saint Malo to reach Guadeloupe. Bollé will outfit six skippers in four different categories: Ultim, Ocean Fifty, Imoca and Class 40 in this quest for the queen of solo transatlantic races.
As a French brand established in 1888 and recognized globally in the outdoor sector, Bollé has a proven track record in the world of sailing, which reflects its values of performance and innovation. After previous collaborations with Roland Jourdain, Ellen MacArthur and more recently François Gabart, as well as in races such as the Solitaire du Figaro and in Olympic sailing with the British Sailing Team, Bollé is showing its dedication to returning to the forefront of the nautical scene, particularly in the field of ocean racing and comes equipped with products for the needs of skippers.
The presence of the brand in the Route du Rhum is a significant step in this ambitious project. In the Ultim class, Charles CAUDRELIER is one of the favorites in the race on the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild. The skipper of Gitana will be wearing the HOLMAN model in prescription with Bollé’s proprietary photochromic polarized Phantom + lens technology:
"What I'm looking for is obviously the protection of my eyes, but when we're sailing, we also watch the wind on the water a lot to know if a gust is coming and if the conditions are changing. In this case the quality of the sunglasses will make a big difference, especially in relation to the contrast on the water, and this allows us to anticipate what maneuver we're going to have to make. This is a key point in terms of tactics. I use the Phantom + technology, which is useful because there are different intensities of light and it allows you to always wear the same pair whatever the conditions. For the last few years, I've also needed sunglasses that adapt to my eyesight and the fact that Bollé can provide them in prescription is important because otherwise I wouldn't be able to read my trip computers and the many numbers on them!"
@Yann Riou / polaRYSE / Gitana SA
In the continuity of its partnership with the Pro Sailing Tour, Bollé will outfit 3 skippers in the Ocean Fifty category: Erwan LE ROUX (Koesio), Sébastien ROGUES (Primonial) and Quentin VLAMYNCK (Arkema). Vlamynck is the youngest skipper in the category, and he has already won the 2022 edition of the Pro Sailing Tour and could be the surprise of this race. During the fall training sessions and after several tests, the VULTURE model, and its VOLT+ technology was unanimously approved.
"Sunglasses are an essential element for sailing, both to have good vision of the elements and to protect us from external constraints. The collaboration with Bollé is interesting because we go beyond a simple partnership. We were able to test different lens technologies and try out new prototypes. There is a real exchange with the teams. I'll be starting with the Vulture model and its Volt + lens, it's incredible how different the perception of colors, reliefs and visual comfort are from what I've worn before," explains Quentin Vlamynck.
@Vincent Olivaud / Arkema Sailing
In the Imoca class, the American-New Zealander Conrad COLMAN will represent the brand on Imagine, while in the Class 40 class, Kéni PIPEROL will wear the Bollé colors on Captain Alternance.
These different partnerships are opportunities for Bollé to continue to develop and create more efficient and innovative products. Whether they are competing with Phantom + or VOLT+, the Bollé brand is proud to offer skippers an incomparable visual experience with high-performance polarization. With Phantom + and its photochromic lens, the comfort and vision is unparalleled for the changing conditions that skippers encounter while with VOLT + the result will be an increase in color perception thanks to lenses developed with artificial intelligence, 20 million combinations were analyzed before coming up with this single formula.
Press contact:
René Gerber / rene.gerber@bollebrands.com / Tel. 416 839-0023
