Francesco Zecchi, Prysmian’s MID Director for Southern Europe

“We are absolutely delighted and very proud of what Giancarlo has produced in this Vendée Globe. He managed to hook onto the leading peloton from the start of the race and remained there right the way to the finish. He has managed his circumnavigation of the globe very wisely and found the right balance and the right pace in the Deep South, which were unknown waters for him. He stuck to the strategy he’d outlined even prior to the start, namely to preserve the boat until he rounded Cape Horn. Back in the Atlantic, he was then in a position to attack more and that’s just what he did. We’re very happy with the way he sailed the race. He has demonstrated a great deal of maturity and professionalism, just as he did in the run-up to the event where he prepared himself well both technically and psychologically. Ultimately, we have grown together in this adventure, us as a company and him as an offshore racing professional. We have conveyed a very fine message through this project and with Electriciens sans frontières alongside us. The “1 click – 1 metre” operation has undoubtedly been a great success. We have far exceeded the objectives we set ourselves on that score. The response from our followers has been very enthusiastic and through their involvement we have managed to provide the association with all the many metres of cable necessary to complete the three projects announced. It’s a formula which had already been tried and tested before the Vendée Globe and something we’re certainly going to try to develop further during future races. This project is a very interesting device because it serves as a great platform for conveying messages and for getting our audience involved in the broad sense of the term. Furthermore, the performance our skipper has just posted is massive for us. We weren’t expecting such a stellar result. Finishing in the Top 10 is remarkable for a debut participation. It’s a project that has certainly required a great deal of energy, particularly on the part of Giancarlo, but today it has come to fruition in the best possible way. We’re eager and hopeful for what comes next. We’ll rapidly take stock with Giancarlo to consider what those next steps will be and continue to make plans for moving forward in Class IMOCA.”