The choice of Lorient as the start port of The Ocean Race Europe marks the town’s welcome return to hosting major offshore races. The French seaport, located in the Morbihan region of Brittany in the north-west of France, has an ocean racing pedigree that dates back to the 1979 Transat en Double race from Lorient to Bermuda and back.

That inaugural edition saw a classic duel between two local double-handed crews: Éric Tabarly and Marc Pajot and Eugène Riguidel and Gilles Gahinet, with the latter crossing the finish line in Lorient less than six minutes ahead of their rivals after thousands of miles of ocean racing.

Lorient was also a stopover port in the 2012 edition of The Ocean Race around the world when both the leg from Lisbon and the race overall were won by Lorient skipper Franck Cammas. The Ocean Race last returned to Lorient in 2015.

Leg 1 Lorient - Cascais Start: 29 May at 1200 UTC / 1300 local / 1400 CEST