Youth Path to Challenger at the heart of the Orient Express Racing Team

Youth Path to Challenger at the heart of the Orient Express Racing Team

by Orient Express Racing Team Sep 12 07:32 PDT

Since its inception in 2013, the Youth America’s Cup has earned its place in the sailing world, not only as a challenging and entertaining event, but also as a now-proven pathway to the pinnacle of professional yacht racing.

A decade later, and in 2024, the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup is set to deliver more of the same, and no fewer than 12 teams are in the running — six of the defending and challenging Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup teams, including France’s Orient Express-L’Oréal Racing Team, and six other invitees representing yacht clubs in Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, Germany, Sweden and Australia.

Like New Zealand Defender and a number of challenger squads, the Orient Express Racing Team is now home to a number of high-calibre drivers who owe their success in part to the incredible experience known as the Youth America’s Cup.

Among them is the hardy sailor Timothé Lapauw: “My first experience in the world of the America’s Cup was during the 2017 Youth America’s Cup in Bermuda,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to be part of Team France Jeune for the Youth America’s Cup captained by Robin Follin in the early days of foiling.

“That was the year Peter Burling won his first real America’s Cup. And we know that in the previous America’s Cup in 2013, he was on the Youth America’s Cup team and he won it. So there was this feeling of being able to do something big and potentially being able to jump into another campaign after that. Why not?”

Another element of the 2017 campaign that remains embedded in the Orient Express Racing Team ethos, is that the Youth Team is part of, rather than independent of, the Challenger Team organisation, as is now the case with the Women’s Team.

“What I remember most about the Youth America’s Cup was the way we were integrated into the challenger team with all the sailors and technicians,” Lapauw said.

“Studying different areas, whether it’s technology, technical or pure sailing, I think we’ve all grown from there and that’s contributed greatly to where we are today.”

Another member of the current French challenger organisation is Antoine Rucard, the team’s AC75 Coordinator, who was Lapauw’s crewmate in Bermuda on Team France Jeune’s AC45 foiling catamaran.

“There were six people on board, with Robin Follin as helmsman, Valentin Sipan as tactician, Robert Solune as wing helmsman, Bruno Mourniac as headsail helmsman, and Timothé Lapauw as bow helmsman. I was the buoy helmsman, so I was on the bow with Tim,” he recalled.

Like many others, he acknowledges the role the Youth America’s Cup played in his racing career, and pays tribute to the extra boost provided by the French sailing team.

“We got our chance to get into professional sailing. We arrived in Bermuda as part of a team competing for the America’s Cup. After that, the transition was quite easy because we were welcomed very well by the Challenger team at the time, led by Franck Cammas.

“All the team members are on professional teams now, so it’s been a great experience.”

The Youth America’s Cup also played a significant role in the career of Jason Saunders, the trimmer on the French challenger’s AC75 foiling machine. He recalled: “The 2013 Youth America’s Cup was right after my first Olympics in London, where I finished fourth in the 470 class.

“It was the first America’s Youth Cup and I was selected with a great team that included Peter Burling, Blair Tuke and Sam Meech, all sailors who now race in the Cup.

“We were able to sail in San Francisco, so we saw what the America’s Cup was like because we were with the New Zealanders. We saw how they prepared for the challenge in 2013. I remember being on the water and seeing the boats sailing at 40 to 45 knots, they were incredible machines.

“And that definitely made me dream. It was an amazing experience that helped us a lot, we got the opportunity to participate in the America’s Cup for the first time, so I have only great memories.”

The UniCredit Youth America’s Cup in Barcelona runs from the start of the Qualifying Series on September 17th through to the Final Match Race on September 26th.

The 12-person fleet is split between six invited teams and six Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup teams. The two groups will compete in eight fleet races in the Qualifying Series, with the top three in each group advancing to the Final Series of four fleet races. The top two will then compete in a winner-take-all Final Match Race.

Stay tuned for the Orient Express – L’Oréal Racing Team Youth America’s Cup team lineup on Monday! For a preview, visit orientexpressracingteam.americascup.com/en/team/youth