Team Paprec Arkéa (FRA)

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Since childhood, Corentin Horeau (FRA), a graduate of merchant Navy, has had a passion for the sea, and Quiberon Bay is his favorite playground. He has cut his teeth on all types of support craft, both crewed and solo. Known for his steely resolve and unfailing fighting spirit, Corentin is a feared competitor on the pontoons. From 2011 to 2015, Corentin took part in the Région Bretagne-CMB excellence programme.

Familiar with the Figaro circuit for 10 years, including 7 participations in the Solitaire du Figaro, which he won in 2023, Corentin is one of those sailors you immediately think of as a crew member when you're looking to surround yourself with the right people. As proof of this, Benjamin Dutreux called on him to join him on the Transat Jacques Vabre 2023, introducing him to the IMOCA class.

In 2025, he announced that he would be co-skipper of Yoann Richomme on Paprec Arkéa for double-handed and crewed races.

Corentin, who is considered as a pure new talent of the ocean racing, makes no secret of his enthusiasm at the prospect of taking on this incredible challenge. "I was very touched to see that the team was interested in me, I was pleasantly surprised and of course, I jumped at the chance!" The sailor, who is buying Yoann's boat after the season and will become the new skipper under new colours, adds."Being able to join a team like Paprec Arkéa, which has proved its talent and know-how is a great challenge!"

Born into a sailing family in Portugal, Mariana Lobato (PRT) began sailing at the age of eight and went on to race her first European Championship in the singlehanded under-16 Optimist class. Having worked her way up through larger dinghy classes like the Snipe and 420, and into Olympic classes like the 470, 49erFX, and Nacra 17, Lobato specialised in match racing – a discipline in which – sailing with Rita Gonçalves and Diana Neves – she represented her country at the London 2012 Olympic Games before going on to win the women’s match racing world title in 2013.

Since then she has been a regular face on racing GC32 and M32 catamarans and on the larger Ocean Fifty trimaran regatta circuit. As a qualified paramedic, Mariana was a member of the Portuguese Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team which was victorious in the VO65 class in the inaugural staging of The Ocean Race Europe in 2021.

Two years later, in 2023 Lobato took her first around-the-world edition of The Ocean Race onboard IMOCA Biotherm. Mariana trains crossfit five times a week, is a mother of three kids (9 years, 5 years and 8 months) and is married to also sailor Antonio Fontes. For Mariana, juggling life between kids, family organisation and offshore sailing is a good challenge!

Gautier Levisse (FRA), Head of the Paprec Arkéa design team, this is his 5th season with Yoann Richomme. He previously worked in the design team for Brit'Air, Cheminée Poujoulat and Banque Populaire, IMOCA and Ultim teams.

"I want to see what it's like to race with a crew on an IMOCA boat. This experience will enable me to be even better in my day-to-day work so that I can get a better grasp of how Yoann and the boat are feeling. It's great that it's a contact race: it'll allow us to see if our choices, our shifts and our options will pay off!"

Pascal Bidégorry (FRA), from the Basque region of France, is an ocean racer and sought-after crew member, particularly on the IMOCA circuit in recent years. With his talent for making boats go fast, he has one of the most impressive track records in sailing. Winner of the Solitaire du Figaro in 2000, he became skipper of Team Banque Populaire in 2004, with whom he enjoyed a string of successes.

He then sailed on a number of boats, including Dongfeng Race Team for two Volvo Ocean Races with Charles Caudrelier, including a historic victory in 2018. From 2019, Pascal sailed alongside Charlie Enright in the international 11th Hour Racing Team, with whom he finished fourth in the 2019 Transat Jacques Vabre, before taking part in The Ocean Race Europe 2021 edition.

In 2023, he became co-skipper of Charlie Dalin, with whom he won the Rolex Fastnet Race. Also a record-breaker, he has held the crewed Atlantic record since 2009 (3 days 15 hours, over 900 miles in 24 hours), and has been involved in all - or almost all - of the Jules Verne Trophy attempts in recent years. He joins the Paprec Arkéa team, happy to “discover Yoann, his boat, his crew...”.

“It's the kind of race I really like, with short courses and lots of intensity all the time," comments Pascal. "I've already sailed around Europe in an Orma, an Ultim, an IMOCA, and it's always quite a challenge. I saw a lot of Yoann when I was with Charlie (Dalin). I find it very interesting to get to know Yoann, his boat, his crew... What's really exciting is to be able to combine all these talents."

Louis Dubois (FRA) is the rigging supervisor of the Paprec Arkéa Team since two years and will discover racing on board a foiling IMOCA this summer alongside Yoann and the crew on The Ocean Race Europe.

"I'm a rigger and I really enjoy sailing," he comments. "Taking part in The Ocean Race Europe is a great mark of trust from Yoann and the team. I'm sure that this experience will also be useful to me later on, as I'll be able to expand my knowledge and optimise the boat".

Photographer and videographer, Julien Champolion (FRA) is an experienced reporter who has worked with a number of teams in the IMOCA and Ocean50 Classes in recent years. Julien has been working with the Team Paprec Arkéa for two years.

He is part of the polaRYSE team led by Yann Riou and Eloi Stichelbaut. Trained at a film school, he has already produced great offshore content for a number of major ocean racing teams.

"What's great about being an On Board Reporter is that you get to be at the heart of the action, focused on highlighting the boat, the crew and the race. Every day, you have to tell stories on board. The legs will be short, but it's going to be intense and exciting!"