Route du Rhum: six Italians driven by ambition and passion
Six Italians will share the same start line, two of them with the potential to challenge at the front of the IMOCA fleet. The 2026 Route du Rhum marks an important moment for Italian ocean racing: its largest contingent to date brings results, boats and expertise that make this a particularly compelling group to follow. Ambrogio Beccaria and Francesca Clapcich will race in IMOCA, with Luca Rosetti, Andrea Fornaro, Matteo Sericano and Marco Guerra competing in Class40. Italy has the second-largest contingent in this 13th edition, behind France.
The start, on a single line shared by all classes, is scheduled for Sunday 1 November at 13:02 CET off Saint-Malo. The fleet faces 3,542 nautical miles to Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe, with crucial tactical decisions along the way: getting out of the English Channel, negotiating the weather systems of the North Atlantic and, finally, rounding Guadeloupe, where wind shadows and light patches can threaten even a substantial lead built offshore. First held in 1978 and staged every four years, the race has attracted 115 skippers across six classes: Ultim, Ocean Fifty, IMOCA, Class40, Vintage Multi and Vintage Mono.
The six sailors gathered in Saint-Malo on 29 October for the press conference of what had already been dubbed “The Italian Ocean Racing Wave” at the previous edition. Their discussion highlighted the differences between established professional campaigns, projects supported by friends and fellow enthusiasts, and ventures in which the skipper has also taken a hands-on role in building the boat. What they share is a willingness to help one another: knowledge, experience and contacts circulate freely among sailors who, once offshore, will each be racing for their own result.
“It makes me happy to see so many Italian boats at the start of the Route du Rhum. When I began, there were very few of us. Today, major companies are investing, and those starting out can see that it is possible and know whom to ask for advice. The more of us there are, the better we can tell the story of Italian ocean racing and the more people follow our sport: it is a virtuous circle,” says Beccaria. The Milan-born sailor returns after finishing second in Class40 in 2022, this time aboard the IMOCA “Allagrande Mapei”. Victory in the Vendée Arctique and second place in the Défi Azimut’s 48-hour race have established him as a serious contender. His preparation has been far more extensive than four years ago, when he arrived with a newly launched Class40 and little training time. A winter refit and new V3 foils have been followed by extensive sailing, both solo and with his technical team, to improve performance, reliability and his understanding of the boat.
In Saint-Malo, Beccaria also spoke about the other side of that progress: being among the favourites brings a different kind of pressure from having everything still to prove. The campaign has matured faster than he expected, following bold decisions both technically and in assembling his team. In certain conditions, he feels he can be faster than his rivals, but knows that turning that potential into a result will demand clear thinking above all. The 2028 Vendée Globe remains on the horizon, without diminishing the importance of the race immediately ahead: “I really want to give this race everything. Together with the team, we are using every resource available to us to achieve the best possible result.”
For Clapcich, aboard “11th Hour Racing”, this will be her first solo transatlantic race, following two Olympic campaigns, two crewed round-the-world races and victory in The Ocean Race 2022–23. She arrives after a strong season and leads the IMOCA Globe Series: a top-six finish will secure the 2026 title, which no woman has yet won. The boat’s preparation gives her confidence that she can compete with the latest IMOCA designs. Her personal challenge will be to manage energy, sleep and manoeuvres without anyone else to share the workload. Alongside its racing programme, the team continues its work to make sailing more accessible, including events and activities with the local community in Saint-Malo.
In Class40, the largest fleet with 49 entries, Luca Rosetti arrives as the winner of the Series division of the 2023 Mini Transat. His “Maccaferri Futura” builds on the experience gained with the Musa40, the Italian design behind Beccaria’s rise in the class, incorporating feedback from other skippers who have raced it. Rosetti highlighted the shared effort that has driven its modifications and refinements. His ambitions are clear: “We know how tough it will be, but we are not here simply to take part: we want to be competitive, push ourselves to the limit and carry all the ambition of this Italian project to Guadeloupe.” Racing preparation is complemented by a scientific programme with the University of Milano-Bicocca, covering environmental sampling, materials research and psychophysiological monitoring of sailors, with a focus on sleep, stress and recovery.
For Fornaro, making his second appearance aboard “Influence 2”, a Musa40 launched in 2023, this crossing could bring a chapter of his career to a close. “This will be my second Route du Rhum and I cannot wait to get going and enjoy it. I think it will also be my last long solo race: a transition into a new phase of my career. That is precisely why I want to make the most of it, with a calm and fairly relaxed approach.” His sporting benchmark remains the 21st place he achieved in 2022 after a crossing beset by problems, and he told the press conference that his aim is to improve on it. Experience, however, has taught him not to let the result dominate his thinking: “I will do my best, but without the pressure of having to win or push at all costs. I want to sail freely, feel at ease and enjoy myself. I have a lovely boat and a team that has done an excellent job preparing her: I am setting off with confidence and the feeling that everything is ready for this adventure.”
For Sericano and Guerra, both making their debuts, personal commitment and passion have played an even greater part in getting their campaigns to the start. Sericano will race “Lucente”. The Genoese sailor has handled boat preparation and fundraising himself, while also trying to find time to train, without the shore team available to the leading professional campaigns. “It is hugely emotional for me to be at the start of my first Route du Rhum with a campaign built, above all, around friends. Perhaps our project shows that major goals can also be achieved through mutual support and the strength of personal relationships.” As president of the Italian Mini class association, Sericano understands the value of that generosity and the need to pass on experience to newcomers. At the press conference, he put it simply: “We are building the pathway.” For him and those who have helped him, reaching Saint-Malo means having overcome a substantial part of the challenge before even setting out across the Atlantic.
Guerra, meanwhile, is taking to sea in a boat he spent two and a half years building. Originally from Bari and long based in France, he has drawn on his experience in the marine industry to develop and build the Class40 “Imagin’Act Socomec”, working with a small group of collaborators. The hull lines were entrusted to a naval architecture practice, while many of the onboard solutions grew out of his own work and discussions with technical partners. These include electrical systems monitoring and automated water-ballast management, the latter developed with input from INSA Strasbourg. A wild card brought forward his opportunity to enter the 2026 race, a goal he had originally envisaged for later; he still had to complete his qualifying passage. “It is the start of a journey full of discoveries, in which I will have to get to know the boat I conceived and built inside out, find our limits and, above all, push beyond them. I am not setting off simply to cross the Atlantic, but to test myself, deal with the unexpected and fully experience the freedom of being at sea.” Through Imagin’Act, the project also supports initiatives for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The press conference also raised the question of how to sustain this Italian presence. While acknowledging the progress made, Beccaria urged people to look beyond the results of established professionals, expressing concern about the next generation coming through the Mini Transat and the difficulty of building a pathway into the bigger classes. At issue are the boats, races and opportunities that allow a young sailor to see ocean racing as a profession. Italy has produced competitive skippers, respected designers, boatbuilders and technicians, yet much still depends on individual initiative. The collaboration described by the six sailors provides a tangible foundation on which to build.
In Saint-Malo, meanwhile, the departure begins with the passage through the locks. The Ultims will leave the docks on Friday 30 October, followed by the IMOCAs on Saturday, while the Class40s will lock out on Sunday morning. Boats leaving early will wait in designated areas outside the harbour, allowing skippers to spend their final night ashore. On Sunday, all 115 competitors will start at the same signal, but the line will be divided into sectors for the different classes, separated by laid marks, with a French naval vessel in the middle. Every skipper must be alone aboard four minutes before the start. As monohull sailors, all six Italians will also be prohibited from receiving shore-based weather routing: interpreting the forecasts and making routing decisions will remain the skipper’s responsibility.
The forecasts available ahead of the race suggest favourable starting conditions, with a north-easterly breeze and a slight sea under the influence of high pressure. The picture will need to be checked against the latest forecasts, but for now it points to a less punishing departure from Saint-Malo than in some previous editions. Live coverage of the start and the race tracker will be available on the official website, www.routedurhum.com. From 13:02 CET on Sunday, months of preparation will give way to the decisions of six skippers, each alone aboard their boat.
Giuliano Luzzatto