Timothé Polet

The Le Havre sailor completing his master's degree remotely between two Class 40 transatlantic races

Thimoté Polet — born in 2000, 25 years old, club-trained in Le Havre from age 6. First Class 40 races in 2021, on Entraide Maritime #100 with Nicolas Lemarchand. Since 2023, he has been skippering the ZEISS Class 40 and teams up with Pierrick Letouzé for double-handed races. Target set on the 2026 Route du Rhum solo race.

The boat: Mach 40.6 #208, Sam Manuard design, launched November 2024

The current ZEISS is a Mach 40.6 hull #208, Sam Manuard design built by JPS shipyard and launched in November 2024 in La Trinité-sur-Mer. ZEISS has been the main sponsor since 2023, with an agreement running through 2026. Before this boat, he completed his first transatlantic in 2021 on the #100 Entraide Maritime, then the 2023 Jacques Vabre on the #172 ZEISS-WeeeCycling.

The 2025 season: stepping up with Letouzé

The year delivered on the promise with Pierrick Letouzé. First Class 40 podium in September on the 40 Malouine La Trinquette (3rd), sandwiched between a 4th place in the Rolex Fastnet Race (with Alexandre Demange as part of a reinforced crew), a 6th in the Normandy Channel Race and a 6th overall in Les Sables-Horta. The season wrapped up with the Transat Café L'Or, finishing 14th in 20 days 16 hours 56 minutes — his third transatlantic crossing in a race.

Student at GEM in parallel

Alongside racing, Thimoté is completing a specialized Finance master's degree at Grenoble École de Management, via the high-level athlete distance-learning program. The 5-year curriculum is scheduled to finish in April 2027. This explains the tight schedule: boat prep and exam revisions in the same week.

Race record

• 2025 — Transat Café L'Or (Le Havre - Fort-de-France): 14th in 20d 16h 56m 22s, double-handed with Pierrick Letouzé on Class 40 ZEISS (3rd transatlantic)
• 2025 — 40 Malouine La Trinquette: 3rd with Pierrick Letouzé, first Class 40 podium
• 2025 — Rolex Fastnet Race: 4th with Pierrick Letouzé and Alexandre Demange
• 2025 — Les Sables - Horta: 6th overall (outbound double-handed with Pierrick Letouzé, return solo)
• 2025 — CIC Normandy Channel Race: 6th with Pierrick Letouzé
• 2024 — The Transat CIC (solo): abandoned due to dismasting
• 2023 — Transat Jacques Vabre: 21st on Class 40 ZEISS-WeeeCycling #172, with Pierrick Letouzé
• 2021 — Transat Jacques Vabre: 32nd on Class 40 Entraide Maritime #100, with Nicolas Lemarchand (1st transatlantic)
• 2021 — European Match Racing Championship: winner
• 2026 — Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe (Nov. 1st, solo): entered, main season objective

Official website: thimotepolet.fr.