After the 3rd place in the Bermudes 1000, the next goal of Pedote and Prysmian group is the Armen Race

After the excellent result achieved in the Bermudes 1000, Prysmian Group and Giancarlo Pedote are now preparing for the Armen Race, scheduled on 30 May and covering about 320 miles along the Atlantic coast of France.

Giancarlo Pedote placed third in the Bermudes 1000, the first of the three races on the 2019 calendar for the IMOCA Globe Series leading up to the Vendée Globe 2020, a non stop solo, round the world race without assistance. The Bermudes 1000 race spanned 2,000 miles between Douarnenez and Brest, in Brittany, with one mark at the legendary Fastnet rock and another at the Azores.

The competition posed numerous difficulties, starting with the first night: the hull of Giancarlo Pedote's 60-foot IMOCA became entangled in a fishing boat's net, forcing the skipper to strike the sails and dive into the water to free the vessel. Despite the time lost because of the procedure, Pedote climbed back from last to third place by the end of the race in a breathtaking finale involving a significant rally in the last 50 miles.

“When I got stuck in the net and I knew the only way forward was to dive in and cut myself free, I was scared. In a few seconds a series of images flashed through my mind: skippers refusing to get in the water because it's dangerous. My wife and children. All the sacrifices I had made to get on that boat, faced with that challenge,” statedGiancarlo Pedote. “In that same instant, I felt certain that I was going to free the boat and return to my children. My fear was behind me, tugging on my bathing suit to keep me from jumping in; my determination pushed me harder into the water. When determination wins out against fear, confidence is born. It was confidence that led me to believe that, if I freed the boat from the net, I would be able to move forward. In other words, that was how I was able to move forward."

“We are proud of this important result. Giancarlo has proved once again that he is able to compete at very high-level events such as the Bermudes 1000 and to overcome even the most difficult obstacles coolly and calmly, as he did with those that he faced during the race,” stated Valerio Battista, CEO of Prysmian Group. ”However, this is just the beginning: the road to Vendée Globe is still long. We need to continue our work along these lines, with determination and humility.”

Vendée Globe 2020 is more than just a sporting initiative. Thanks to the involvement of Electriciens sans frontières, an international NGO that develops international charity projects aimed at bridging disparities in access to electricity and water worldwide and at promoting the economic and social development of populations that are more in need or impacted by natural disasters, in particular through renewable energy, Prysmian Group and Giancarlo Pedote are making the values of sustainability and social commitment the project's focal point.

A new website about this project and dedicated social channels have been created to provide sailing fans with news, updates, interesting information on races and much more.

(Website: https://www.prysmianoceanracing.com. Social channels: facebook.com/PrysmianOceanRacing; instagram.com/prysmianoceanracing; twitter.com/PrysmianOcean)