Sailing-France's Dorange withdraws from Route du Rhum after collision damage

Soccer Football - Arrival of the Vendee Globe youngest sailor to compete Violette Dorange and Kojiro Shiraishi - Les Sables-d'Olonne, France - February 9, 2025 Devenir's Violette Dorange arrives after finishing the Vendee Globe REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo

PARIS, Nov 6 (Reuters) - ⁠France's Violette Dorange has withdrawn from the ⁠13th edition of the Route du ‌Rhum, five days after a collision withRomain Pilliard in the early hours of the race, herInitiatives-Coeur team said on ​Friday.

• The 25-year-old sailor, who ⁠became the youngest ⁠competitor to finish the Vendee Globe in 2025, ⁠first ‌headed to Roscoff to assess the damage before sailing on to her ⁠home port ofLorient to repair the IMOCA ​monohull

• "Further investigations ‌in Lorient revealed more significant structural damage ⁠than what ​was found during the stopover in Roscoff. The time needed to repair it will not allow ⁠Violette to resume the race," ​Initiatives-Coeur said in a statement

• Dorange had hoped to complete the transatlantic race before the finish ⁠line closes on December 3

• "It's obviously a great disappointment. I'm sad to have to stop here, but the state of the boat ​leaves us no choice," Dorange ⁠said

• Both Dorange's and Pilliard's teams said they ​wanted to lodge a ‌complaint over the collision, but ​the race jury have yet to rule

(Reporting by Vincent DaheronEditing by Christian Radnedge)