Vendée Globe: suspected of cheating, Clarisse Crémer cleared and “relieved”

Fifteen days after anonymous accusations of cheating were sent to several media, sailor Clarisse Crémer and her partner Tanguy Le Turquais were cleared on Monday of any “bad conduct” by an international jury, several media learned from the organizers.

“Tanguy sought to understand Clarisse's intentions, to reassure himself about her safety (...) The International Jury is entirely convinced that there was no misconduct,” it is written in the decision, that the AFP was able to consult. “It’s a big relief. With Tanguy, we didn’t really doubt ourselves, but it was really a nightmare in recent weeks,” the 34-year-old sailor, 12th in the 2020/2021 Vendée Globe, reacted to AFP.

“We have the feeling that the page will finally be able to turn and start devoting ourselves 100% to the preparation of our two projects,” she added. The accusation was based on screenshots of WhatsApp conversations between Crémer and her husband during the race, sent anonymously to several media outlets and the French sailing federation.

These screenshots, some of which included weather maps, prompted the organizers of the Vendée Globe to form a jury to determine whether the sportswoman had benefited from routing, which is strictly prohibited by the regulations of this round-the-world race. solo monohull sailing.

In its decision, the jury considered that these screenshots “do not demonstrate that there was “routing”” on the part of Tanguy Le Turquais and “do not demonstrate that Clarisse received performance assistance” from his spouse.

“The International Jury is entirely convinced that there was no misconduct on the part of Clarisse Crémer or Tanguy Le Turquais (...) I therefore take note of these conclusions rendered in complete independence,” commented in a press release from Alain Leboeuf, president of the Vendée Globe. The two skippers are currently candidates for departure for the next Vendée Globe, which will start in November from Les Sables d'Olonne.

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