Alex Thomson is looking forward to going a step further at sea

Alex Thomson Racing has released a new video to mark one month until the start of the Vendée Globe (on Sunday 8th November).

Thomson finished third and then second in the previous two editions of the non-stop, around-the-world race.

He’s looking forward to this edition and is hoping to shave a week off his personal best.

“I think 67 days could be achievable. Last time I was 74 with a broken foil on day 11 so I think I could have finished close to 70,” Thomson told BT Sport.

“These boats are significantly faster than the last generation.

“In the last one I think I was at the longitude of Cape Town in 17 days, which was extraordinary.

“It’s weather-dependent but the boats have certainly come to a point where they are significantly faster and more demanding than they were before.”

He says he ‘sadistically’ loves the challenge that the Vendée Globe presents.

“The mental side of it is tough because you’ve got to make all of those decisions by yourself and you’re knackered,” he says.

“You’ve got to be confident but you’ve also got to be careful and not reckless.

“On the physicality part, it can be quite brutal. I don’t know why but sadistically I love it.

“As tough as it is – to be getting two-and-a-half hours sleep a day and essentially doing an Iron Man every single day for the next 70 days – it’s the right kind of challenge for me.

“It can be quite brutal.”