| Age | 38 (8/11/86) |
|---|---|
| Top performance | Transat Jacques Vabre's Winner in 2017 on Class40 |
| Joined Imoca on | 2019 |
| Team | V and B - Monbana - Mayenne |
| Base | Concarneau (FRANCE) |
| Partners | V and B, Monbana, Mayenne |
| Commitment | Vaincre la Mucoviscidose (Conquering Cystic Fibrosis) |
A civil engineer by training, Maxime Sorel made his first tacks off Port Mer in Cancale. He started out in light sailing and got a taste for the open sea on Pascal Quintin's Multi50. He completed his first transatlantic race during the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe 2014 on board a Class40, which he finished in 1st place in the Class40 Vintage. Then his honorary sponsor, V and B, built him a Mach 40.3 to continue the adventure together.
After a year 2016 that fell short of his ambitions, Maxime redoubled his efforts and began optimising his boat at the beginning of 2017. The work paid off and the skipper won the prestigious Rolex Fastnet Race and the Transat Jacques Vabre.
It was during the 2018 Route du Rhum that Maxime and his partner V and B announced their intention to be on the starting grid for the 2020 Vendée Globe. The Department of Mayenne then joined the adventure and the skipper made his entry into the monohull class, the IMOCA.
After only two years of preparation on board his new boat, Maxime completed his first round-the-world race in 82 days in 10th place. The contract was more than fulfilled, and the skipper returned, true to form, with the same thirst for adventure!
So in 2021, Monbana is strengthening the Mayenne alliance a little more and a new Vendée Globe project is being prepared on board a new, latest generation IMOCA: the V and B - Monbana - Mayenne. The aim is to finish in the top 5 of the future round the world race.
In parallel with this new sailing project, Maxime climbed the Everest of the land (after having completed the Everest of the sea in 2020/21) in order to carry the colours of Vaincre la Mucoviscidose, the association he has been defending since 2014 and for which he is the national sponsor since 2019, and thus achieve what he calls: My Double Everest.
In 2023, he returned to racing with Christopher Pratt for the second half of the double-handed season, where they finished every race in the top10.
In May 2024, he secured 5th place in the Transat CIC, a performance that motivated him even more for the upcoming big challenge: the Vendée Globe. In November, he was about to start his second Vendée Globe with the goal of staying in the lead group. However, right from the start of the race, he injured his ankle and encountered technical problems that forced him to abandon.
2018: Route du Rhum - Retired (Class40)
2018: Guyader Grand Prix - 10th
2017: Transat Jacques Vabre - 1st Class40
2017: Rolex Fasnet Race: 1st in Class40
2017: Guyader Grand Prix: 3rd Class40
2016: Normandy Channel Race: 3rd Class40
2016: Transat Québec/Saint-Malo: 18th Class40
2015: Transat Jacques Vabre 2015: 2nd Class40
2014: Route du Rhum : 1st vintage Class40 and 23rd overall
2014: Guyader Trophy: 1st Class40 Vintage and 8th overall
2014: World Champion Class40 vintage
| Name | V AND B - MONBANA - MAYENNE |
|---|---|
| Sail number | FRA 53 |
| Architect | Guillaume Verdier |
| Construction | 2022, MerConcept |
| Length | 18,28 m |
| Beam | 5,5 m |
| Draught | 4,5 m |
| Weight | 8 tonnes |
| Mast height | 29 m |
| Mast type | Wings mat |
| Foils | Yes |
| Sail area max. | |
| Upwind | NC |
| Downwind | NC |
The 10th edition of the Vendée Globe will go down as one of the greatest in the race’s history, featuring more boats on the startline than ever before, more finishers than ever before, and an emphatic and record-breaking…
•••Maxime Sorel the skipper of V and B - Monbana - Mayenne has taken the tough decision to retire from the Vendée Globe this Friday at midday. Since the second day, his ankle had been badly swollen following a shock to sust…
•••This Sunday, at precisely 1:02 PM, the long-awaited start of the Vendée Globe was unleashed. Forty skippers, driven by dreams as vast as the sea itself, set off on a legendary voyage—solo, non-stop, unassisted—embarking …
•••
