57 Days, 20 hours and 27 minutes: Alexia Barrier's all-female crew's pioneering set a benchmark at the Trophée Jules Verne.
The pioneering Café du Cycliste Caravan athlete becomes the first woman to skipper an all-female crew in a non-stop round-the-world navigation!
It is a great source of pride to count Alexia Barrier as part of our Café du Cycliste Caravan. A committed woman whom we have been more than happy to support for several years through her 4myPlanet organisation, dedicated to protecting the oceans and to educating younger generations.
On 26 January we were on the edge of our seats, deeply moved as we watched Alexia and her all-female crew cross the finish line of the Trophée Jules Verne. A first in the history of sailing and an unprecedented achievement in the annals of sport. Never before had an all-female crew completed a non-stop circumnavigation of the globe, and never had such a crew mastered an Ultim-class trimaran – these Formula 1 cars of the seas had, until now, been the preserve of men and mixed crews. This page had to be written. Alexia wrote it.
57 days, 20 hours, 27 minutes: the record for a round-the-world voyage completed by an all-female crew. Alexia's yacht, the maxi-trimaran IDEC Sport, had held the outright race record until the day before their arrival back in Brest (another boat skippered by Thomas Coville broke the eight-year-old record just 24 hours earlier). But, for the seven women team-mates of The Famous Project CIC team, pure performance had to give way to caution as the boat suffered numerous breakdowns over the course of the circumnavigation. Nevertheless, they brought their 31.5-metre giant – a legendary but ageing machine – safely home after an odyssey of nearly 58 days marked by an extraordinary resilience. This is their story.
29 November 2025: the crew cross the starting line and lead the race for the first two weeks at record-breaking pace. Day 15, South Atlantic: the hook system holding the mainsail jams at the second reef. For nearly six hours, climbing inside the mast in heavy seas, one of the crew members attempts repairs, in vain. A dilemma: stop? Continue? By mutual agreement, they choose to press on. No record is now possible, but a reference time still is – and that in itself is a great acheivement. To do it, they must first make it safely to port.
Day 42: the crew are shocked to discovers that the lower section of the starboard foil is delaminated. It is immediately locked in the raised position for the remainder of the course. A few days earlier, off Cape Leeuwin – Australia's southernmost point – the multi-hull had struck a drifting fishing net, making continued use of the foil dangerous and abruptly slowing progress. Losing a foil strips this type of boat of its ability to “fly” above the water, slowing it even further.
Day 54: as Brest draws closer, the mainsail tears. Four hours' work are required to lower the sail and secure it at the second reef. Only a quarter of the sail remains operational; the boat must finish the race driven by its wing mast and headsails alone. What follows is a true meteorological ordeal. Storm Ingrid strikes, and the final miles toward Brittany become a test of sheer courage. IDEC Sport and her crew battle 8-to-10-metre swells. Terrifying.
Monday 26 January: skipper Alexia Barrier crosses the Trophée Jules Verne finish line. Helicopter footage shows scenes of joy and emotion on board the IDEC Sport, and the achievement is immediately hailed by the sailing world. A few hours later, the silhouette of the Ultim finally appears off Brest, where a packed crowd awaits to celebrate the eight women. The French Navy and maritime authorities pull out all the stops to give the crew a welcome worthy of this historic moment in offshore sailing. Abeille Bretagne, a venerable maritime assistance vessel, forms a guard of honour with its powerful fire hoses, while the sailors, flying the French flag, pass through the Goulet de Brest. Magical.
The celebrations of this pioneering moment in women’s sport are far from finishing. More than a record or a victory, this round-the-world voyage by an all-female crew heralds bold challenges yet to come. The message Alexia has just sent to women of all ages, backgrounds and origins is powerful: “Don’t rule anything out. Everything is possible for those who believe.”We already knew that Alexia is a great sailor; she is also a brilliant entrepreneur, a seasoned manager and leader, and a determined ambassador for ocean protection.
Thank you, Alexia. We are incredibly proud to support, in our own way, the athlete and the woman that you are.
