A great debut at the Route du Rhum for Ambrogio and his Genovese boat

Ambrogio Beccaria’s first Route du Rhum was a memorable expedition, as he came in as the runner up in the 55-strong Class40 on newly-launched AllaGrande Pirelli after 14d 7h 23m 48s of intensive single-handed racing across the Atlantic. Ambrogio, 31, born in Milano, has been sailing since his teens and has won or ranked at the top in several high-profile events, in Italy and abroad.

Thanks to a flawless strategy, Ambrogio eventually prevailed over his direct rival Corentin Douguet from France, following breathless match-racing stretching over several days. One must salute AllaGrande, (“Doing Great!” in Italian) which, despite minimal pre-race testing, proved incredibly competitive with an average speed of 17 knots during the final week of racing, and peak speeds of 25 knots: occasionally faster than the mighty Imoca class.

It was an outstanding achievement for an all-Italian project in a sector historically dominated by French knowledge.

Before the competition began, Beccaria organized a local, very Genovese, solution. Two friends, Guelfi and D’Angeli, worked on an innovative design, which would be constructed by new boatyard Sangiorgio Marine in the heart of Genova (their debut is the AllaGrande) and North Sails Italy in Carasco. Banca Passadore would take charge of financing and, last but not least, Yacht Club Italiano was on deck to support promising athletes.

The Route du Rhum 2022 began November 9 – three days later than scheduled due to adverse weather. Despite a sensible decision by the Racing Committee to delay the start for the first time in 44 years, the race still proved challenging for competitors, with several damaged boats retiring.

Charles Caudrelier won overall on Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, a trimaran, in 6d 19h 47m 25s, beating Francis Joyon’s record time established in 2018.

In the Imoca Class, Thomas Ruyante set the new class record with 11d 17h, improving over François Gabart’s 12d 4h in 2012.