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Alors que débute la 5e semaine de ce Vendée Globe, les défis qui s'annoncent sont nombreux. En tête de course, Charlie DALIN (Apivia) et Thomas RUYANT (LinkedOut​) doivent décider de leur stratégie avant d'affronter un front conséquent à partir de demain. D'autres, comme Louis BURTON, sont déjà face à un autre front ce lundi matin. Loin de là, quatre skippers ont passé le cap de Bonne-Espérance hier et savent que la suite s'annonce particulièrement corsée.

Over 24 hours of intense work has left the inside of Louis BURTON's IMOCA Bureau Vallée in a mess but the third placed skipper confirmed this morning that his efforts, in collaboration with his shore team, have kept him in the race. Speaking on the 0400hrs TU call this morning, after he had just gybed at the Antarctic Exclusion Zone he said, "I'm pretty burnt out and I admit that I came close to having to abandon". True to the philosophy of many competitors BURTON was not giving everything away about his problems, other than having said earlier that he had automatic pilot troubles.

Louis BURTON, the solo skipper of eighth placed Bureau Vallée 2, plans to stop to make repairs at the tiny, remote MACQUARIE Island in the Southwestern Pacific this weekend. The 15 miles long island is close to his route eastwards and a short parenthesis, he hopes, would allow him to climb his mast and make repairs to his mast track and to the other damages which are compromising his speed potential.

The next 24 hours will be the most challenging so far for Vendée Globe race leader Charlie DALIN (Apivia), especially through this evening and tonight as he will pass as close as he dare to the centre of a Southern Ocean low pressure system which is forecast to bring him gusts over 55kts and big seas. He told his team yesterday 'this is the biggest, most powerful storm I have had through since the start'. So today will mostly be about pushing on and preparing himself and his Apivia.

In the teeth of the biggest depression seen during this Vendée Globe race leader Charlie DALIN has had a tough night but reported briefly to his team that all is well on board Apivia. In a few more hours he should be through the worst of the storm which was forecasted to bring 45 knot mean windspeeds and 50-55kts in the gusts.