Alex Thomson: British Vendee Globe winner would be 'huge for sailing'

Alex Thomson has finished third and second in his past two Vendee Globes

"When Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France in 2012, half the population got itself into Lycra and onto two wheels. I hope I can have a similar impact."

Like Wiggins, sailor Alex Thomson knows a thing or two about carrying a country's hopes for a first winner in his chosen specialist event.

While sailing's Vendee Globe round-the-world race may not quite receive the same recognition as cycling's grandest of Grand Tours, it still remains an unconquered challenge for a country which has produced numerous multi-Olympic champions and solo endurance record breakers.

No Briton, male or female, has won the "Everest of sailing" event which has been dominated by the French in every previous iteration.

Providing he tests negative for Covid-19 in his final pre-race test on Friday, 46-year-old Thomson will start his fifth Vendee Globe on Sunday looking to go one better than his second-place four years ago.

In around 70 days, he'll hope to be the first of 32 skippers to cross the finish line at Les Sables d'Olonne, western France.

"In France, this event is a massive deal," Thomson told BBC Sport.

"I think 90% of French people know what the Vendee Globe is all about, it's up there with the Tour de France.

"The French understand how tough and challenging it is and the patience and resilience we have to show to finish.

"A lot of French people believe it or not, want to see me win as they want the rest of the world to see how great this race is. If we can do that, it would be quite phenomenal."

Thomson, from Gosport in Hampshire, has finished third and second in his past two attempts in 2012-13 and 2016-17.

His Hugo Boss monohull will be among the favourites when the "behind closed doors" event begins without the usual crowds of well-wishers and spectators.

Thomson and his support crew have been isolating for the past week since travelling across from England, having also done so in their own homes for the previous 14 days.

"Covid is a small risk, but it's something we've been really stringent on to make sure it doesn't happen," Thomson said.

"The Vendee only happens every four years, like the Olympics, so you make those sacrifices.

"My wife and children, who have had themselves tested several times and been isolated while on half-term holidays have also made those sacrifices with me.

"There are different ways of looking at it. My wife and I looked at the positive in that we all got to spend more time together as a family than we would've done normally."

Thomson believes now is, in many ways, an ideal time to be setting out on a three-month solo voyage.

"In terms of sports people who have to learn to self-isolate, I'm probably more used to it than most," he said.

"I'm about to go into my own 'lockdown' of sorts. There's positives and negatives from everything, but for us as a family and a team, we take the positives from almost every situation.

"It's hard to say that when many more people have suffered and I feel very sorry for them, but we have to try and face it as best we can."

Three other British skippers will line up alongside Thomson at the start, French-based Sam Davies, 46, in her third Vendee, and two first-timers in Pip Hare, also 46, from Poole and Miranda Merron, 51, from Cowes.

Hare will be using artificial intelligence technology on her Medallia monohull which monitors her mood and sleep levels in order to keep her at optimum race performance.

"It's not always that easy to understand how (mid race) my cognitive function might be impaired," Hare told BBC Click.

"So I've had an app written for me that will help assess it while I'm out on the water on my own. So if I'm about to make a big race decision, that might influence me to take a short burst of sleep either before or after I take it."