Charlie Dalin, the last winner of the Vendée Globe who revealed in October that he was suffering from cancer, will not sail solo in 2026. The sailor will therefore miss the Route du Rhum and will be replaced by Sam Goodchild on Macif.
Charlie Dalin will not start the next Route du Rhum, on November 1st in Saint-Malo. The last winner of the Vendée Globe announced on Thursday that he would not sail in 2026 for health reasons. Last October, the 41-year-old sailor published a book “The Force of Destiny” in which he revealed that he was suffering from gastrointestinal cancer diagnosed in September 2023. This did not prevent him from winning the Vendée Globe and setting a new record in the competition. During his nearly 65 days at sea (64 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes and 49 seconds exactly, a record), the Norman had followed a treatment protocol, immunotherapy. He had surgery on February 27, 2026 to remove a tumor the “size of a grapefruit”.
“Solo sailing offshore is currently forbidden to me”
As was feared, he decided not to sail in 2026, even if he hoped to be able to line up at the start of the Route du Rhum. The Englishman Sam Goodchild will replace him on Macif. “After reflection and in consultation with his medical team, Charlie Dalin has made the decision not to participate in the 2026 season of the Imoca circuit and to concentrate fully on his recovery,” said the team press release. “Charlie Dalin remains fully involved within the team. In 2026 he will continue his advisory missions to the design office in charge of the design and construction of Sam Goodchild’s future Imoca, which is scheduled to be launched next year. His expertise, acquired over numerous campaigns at the highest level, will continue to feed the daily performance of the project as well as the technical choices and strategic directions to come.”
“Not racing this season is a difficult decision, but necessary to focus on my health and recovery,” Charlie Dalin said in this press release. “Sailing solo offshore is currently prohibited for me, but I remain authorized to sail with a crew, which I will do in particular alongside Sam Goodchild. I remain deeply attached to the MACIF Santé Prévoyance project and its future. My commitment to Sam and the technical team remains total. Together, we will continue to write the history of this boat and prepare the next one, with the same demands and the same passion that have always driven me.”
Elected sailor of the year 2025 in December, Charlie Dalin had agreed to meet in January for the decision on the Vendée Globe. “This trophy makes me want to come back to race quickly,” he confided. “For the Route du Rhum I asked Macif to be able to give my answer at the end of January. I fight every day to return to sail on these beautiful boats. I will take stock of the situation with the doctors. There is still work to do to participate. I do three or four weight training sessions per week but for the moment I cannot say whether it will be yes or no.
