Benoît Paillard was the local of the stage ... of the last French championship, the most prominent. In terms of performance, he came very close to emulating Benjamin Longy, who won the 2017 event in La Baule as a local, who turned up at the last minute. Benoit failed to finish at the foot of the podium, perhaps betrayed by his (too?) relaxed attitude, which kept him smiling right to the end.
Benoit, the regular raceboarders discovered you at this 2021 French Championship, having never met you before. Who are you?
I raced dinghy boards from 1997 to 2002, winning several Aquitaine championships! Admittedly, there were 5 of us haha.
Today I'm 37 and a member of the VLG, the best club in the Médoc, of course.
For a comeback, you won the first race straight away. What did you think at the time? about yourself and about the fleet and its adversity?
Of course, it's always a pleasure to be first! It was great to get a feel for the regatta, the procedure, the start, fleet management and so on. I'll admit that at the time I was thinking, 'By golly, there might be a way of winning this championship! I was a bit worried about Greg Bardinet, who was first to windward, but I took care of him that evening in the refreshment room.
Were the weather conditions varied on your spot? Is that a habit? And from a personal point of view, how did the rest of the championship go?
It's true that we don't have too much wind here, and when there's a dep like during the championship, the wind often only comes in halfway, and in the worst possible way. In any case, I was feeling pretty warm for what was to come, given the forecasts and the fact that I'm doing pretty well in the house! Unfortunately, there were quite a few runs with light winds afterwards, where Jeanne was just impregnable.
On the last run in a steady wind, there were still 4 competitors vying for the title, including you. With 200 meters to go, you're2nd in the heat, securing the podium, only to lose it in an incredible 40-knot squall that spreads everyone out in 9.5m², including you. The championship came down to who could get up and go again before the other. ... and you finished 5th in the heat. How did you feel about this particular moment?
I lie down on my board and think about the meaning of life in general... And about my reconversion to cross-stitching. Haha, no kidding, I did what I could, others were better and there's a lot to tell. Of course it hurts to finish last in the pack, 4 points from second place, but that's the game, next time I'll just have to be a bit less stupid and not get into a heap with my mate at the start, for example haha.
In any case, you had a great championship. Was it just a trial run and the beginning of a return to raceboarding?
I think I'm going to stick with it, and I've got a Christmas present coming in the next few days!
How have you appreciated the evolution of the equipment between the one you knew and the current one (sails and floats)?
Sail-wise, it's clear that 9.5 makes all the difference compared to our 7.4s of the 80s: it's going to allow me to play a bit more in calm waters, given my big ass. As for the board, the new volumes are a step in the right direction, too: it glides much better in the soft stuff, whereas with the Mistral you had to rip off your knickers to glide in the medium. But I'm going to have to work a bit harder to exploit the thing's full potential!
Lacanau was a great place for longboard/raceboarding, with a large team of practitioners. For this championship, you were the only one from the club to take part, along with Grégory Bardinet. What are the areas you'd like to develop to revive more consistent practice at the club? For which public(s)?
I think there's a good opportunity to redirect riders with the arrival of foiling, which not everyone can or wants to do. I have the feeling that a lot of young techno sailors could go into raceboarding, the only problem being the lack of an Olympic outlet to pull the whole sector up. The only way to counter this is to have a big calendar in each region, but that requires a lot of riders. It's biting its own tail, but there's a way!
What are your goals for 2022? (the 2022 French championship could once again be held in Lacanau).
The only title I'm interested in is the 24h of Lacanau! Haha, no kidding, we're going to do our very best, slamming in some great races and taking it easy on the water, that's what's good about it!
By the way, thanks to my young wife Anneu Charlotteu for coaching me and providing me with mini-bounty boards all weekend long, and thanks to my brother Arnaud, who gave up his board for the championship, and who'll be doing it with us next year! And thanks to the VLG for a top-notch championship as usual, and thanks to the volunteers without whom we wouldn't be able to do much! And big kisses
Photo credit: F, Y & N Bahuault-Carione]
