Arkéa Ultim Challenge: how much will the winner of the first edition receive?

There are six of them who set off from Brest on Sunday in the first edition of the solo maxi-trimaran round the world trip. An unprecedented test which will not make the winner a rich sailor like Croesus. To register, the teams of each sailor paid 200,000 euros (excluding tax) to the organizer. Whoever crosses the finish line first will put a jackpot in their pocket... 200,000 euros, enough to reimburse their team's registration fees, therefore. Those chasing the winner on the podium will receive nothing.

Thomas Coville (Sodebo 3), Armel Le Cléac'h (Maxi Banque Populaire beautiful carrot attached to the bow of their giant 32 meter trimaran. A reward which will be paid to the winner on one condition: finish in Brest before 100 days at sea. Beyond that, the finish line will be closed to sailors who aim for a crossing of between 40 and 50 days.

Also read: Arkéa Ultim Challenge: start, route, competitors and reward, what you need to know about the event race

In the Transat Jacques Vabre (Le Havre-Martinique) contested last November, Armel Le Cléach, for example, received 70,000 euros which he shared with Sébastien Josse since the race is covered in tandem. Charles Caudrelier increased his bank account by 64,000 euros after his success in the 2022 Route du Rhum between Saint-Malo and Guadeloupe. But these transatlantic crossings are much shorter than a round-the-world trip.

The prize pools are higher in the Vendée Globe, a solo and monohull race (Imoca) non-stop around the planet starting from Sables-d'Olonne, and therefore much longer (Yannick Bestaven won the last edition in 2021 in 80 days). 03:44:46). This event roughly follows the same route as the Arkéa Ultim Challenge: €200,000 for the winner, €140,000 for second, €100,000 for third. 200,000 euros, or a little less than a day's salary for Kylian Mbappé, the highest paid footballer in Europe, who receives 6 million euros net per month, or 228,292 euros in one day or 32,613 per hour.