Ambrogio Beccaria, from success in MiniTransat to solo round the world tour

He is very Milanese, his name and surname do not lie: first name Ambrogio, the city's patron saint, surname Beccaria, descendant of that important family in which the famous Cesare Beccaria, jurist, philosopher and marquis, was born. His passion can be said to be 'French': in fact, he lives in Lorient, in that part of Brittany where sailors with rough hands accumulate, often eaters of recipes that are completely forbidden to us Mediterraneans, such as cod or mussels with cream and bacon. He is likeable in character, but in his brain resides an engineering degree that always makes him come up with a thought with scientific roots. This is why he belongs to the new generation of solo sailors who are slowly erasing the emotional and romantic approach of the past and why they win more.

Ambrose started with 6.5-metre boats crossing the Atlantic, winning the MiniTransat, then he moved up to Class 40s with Allagrande Pirelli and now there is a new horizon for him, the one that for solo sailors is definitive: the round-the-world voyage, the one called Vendee Globe.

The next edition will start in 2028. To race there needs to be an Imoca 60 that is competitive and in order not to waste time on design and construction it has decided to buy Thomas Ruyant's Vulnerable. Built in 2022 to a design by Koch and Finot Conq, she is one of the most modern around and placed well in the last edition of the big race. A little monstrous to watch at sea: these eighteen-metre boats sail at 40 knots rising above the water, only they do not do so in the flat seas of the America's Cup, when they do they are in the middle of the ocean with gale-force winds. The partner in this adventure is Mapei, a multinational manufacturer of chemical products for the building industry with a section dedicated also to the marine sector, famous for its involvement in cycling and other sports.

The team will be called Allagrande Mapei Racing. The first objective is the Ocean Race Europe, actually in crew, which will serve as a handover, Ruyant and Beccaria will sail together. The start is next 10 August from Kiel in Germany, the arrival in Montenegro after a few weeks and a stop also in Genoa.

For the lonely one, reaching the round-the-world race on an Imoca 60 is the most desired goal. For Beccaria, "Racing in this class is really the ultimate, that's all I want. I've never even dared to dream so big... And now that I'm here, I know there will be difficult challenges ahead, but I'm motivated to learn from the ocean and, if possible, to win." Mapei was already a sponsor of Ambrose, which has slowly grown: the budget, not declared but estimated, is 15 million for the complete programme.