Congratulations to Francesca Clapcich the 2026 IMOCA Globe Series champion

Francesca Clapcich has won the 2026 IMOCA Globe Series - the first time a female sailor has been crowned champion. The series win comes on the strength of a run of results for the Italian-American sailor based on the season’s four flagship events - the 1000 Race, the Vendée Arctique, The Ocean Race Atlantic, the Défi Azimut, and the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe.

Clapcich’s eighth-place finish in the Route du Rhum, the notoriously challenging transatlantic sprint, clinched her the title just 36 points ahead of two-time previous winner, Sam Goodchild (GBR/FRA), with Elodie Bonafous (FRA), in third on 388 points.

2026 was Clapcich’s first season in the IMOCA circuit, where she kicked off with a fifth place in the solo 1000 Race, swiftly followed by another fifth in the solo Vendée Arctique. The Ocean Race Atlantic from New York, USA, to Lorient, France, was the only crewed race of the year, where Clapcich led an international 50/50 gender balanced crew to second place, with Alberto Bona, Elodie-Jane Mettraux, and Will Harris, with Julien Champolion as the onboard reporter.

“It’s the first time that a woman has won the IMOCA Globe Series and I’m super proud of that achievement and it just showcases what women’s sport is really about these days” Francesca Clapcich said recalled, upon arriving at the pontoons in Guadeloupe. “And Elodie (Bonafous) did an incredible race in the IMOCAs and she’s on the podium for the Route du Rhum - these are all incredible achievements. It just goes to show how important women’s sport is, and that thanks to the investment there is in women’s sport from organizations like 11th Hour Racing just what we are able to get out of it and achieve.”

Antoine Mermod, President of the IMOCA Class said, “Given the talent that Francesca has demonstrated so far in the Class, I have no doubt she will be a top competitor in the seasons to come. To have two women on the IMOCA Globe Series podium this year, I hope acts as an inspiration to others for many years to come.”

Clapcich first raced in the IMOCA fleet in 2022 when she competed for, and won, The Ocean Race 2022-23 with 11th Hour Racing Team, becoming the first Italian to lift the coveted trophy.

Born in Trieste, Italy, she competed twice in the Olympic Games - in 2012 and 2016 - before turning her hand to offshore sailing. She first competed in The Ocean Race 2017-18 with Turn the Tide on Plastic, before taking on the solo 2021 Solitaire du Figaro where she finished 25th.

In early 2025, Clapcich and her title sponsor, 11th Hour Racing, announced her ambition to take on the 2028 Vendée Globe. She bought Boris Herrmann’s Malizia – Seaexplorer, a VPLP design now renamed 11th Hour Racing - and her first race in the 2025 season was the double-handed Transat Café L’OR alongside Will Harris (GBR), where they finished in an impressive second place.

“Our background naturally leans toward crewed racing,” explains Jérémy Pochman, co-founder and CEO of 11th Hour Racing. “But Francesca has the Vendée Globe in her DNA. Ultimately, this is an exceptional opportunity for us to evolve within the French ecosystem, which is at the forefront of this field. It is up to us to identify best practices and bring them back to the United States.”

The IMOCA Globe Series Championship standings are determined by the total points earned from race results, with each event assigned a grade - 1, 2, 3, or 4 - which acts as a multiplier. Only round-the-world races count as grade 1. The highest championship ranking ever previously achieved by a woman was third place, earned by Justine Mettraux (SUI) in 2024.