In an extraordinary public dispute, IMOCA skipper Clarisse Cremer has been dropped by sponsors Banque Populaire shortly after having her first child. Following the ensuing controversy, Banque Populaire announced it would not compete in the 2024 Vendée Globe at all.
Cremer holds the record for being the fastest woman to sail solo around the world, having raced for Banque Populaire in the last Vendée (she finished 12th), and was due to take on the former Apivia for the same backers in 2024.
On Facebook, Cremer explained she had told her sponsors in February 2021 that she planned to start a family. “They still chose me for this new Vendée Globe and communicated our mutual commitment in autumn 2021.”
However, she then learned “...that Banque Populaire had finally decided to replace me. By their decision, and despite my constant will, I will not be part of the Vendée Globe 2024.”
The rules for Vendée Globe qualification have changed for 2024, with the race likely to be oversubscribed. Previously skippers who had completed the race were guaranteed entry.
“Vendée Globe rules for the 2024 edition require all skippers to compete based on race miles. On this note, I of course fell behind the other competitors at the start, this maternity leave, left me out of qualifying for a year.
“Today Banque Populaire decides that it represents for them a ‘risk’ that they ultimately do not want to take,” Cremer wrote.
Her post caused widespread outrage, becoming a national story in France, with politicians wading into the row. It was nothing short of a PR disaster for Banque Populaire.
The rules are complex: 2024 Vendée Globe skippers must not only qualify their own boat but also build additional miles. If too many skippers qualify, spaces will be awarded to those with the most miles sailed in all IMOCA races from 2021 onwar
