Alex Thomson finishes second

Alex Thomson finishes second

Alex Thomson finishes second

British sailor Alex Thomson has finished the Vendée Globe solo round the world yacht race in second-place after 74 days 19 hours 35 minutes and 15 seconds at sea.

Thomson, 42, crossed the finish line of the race in Les Sables d’Olonne, France, at 0737hrs UTC today on his 60ft racing yacht Hugo Boss.

He was 15h 59min 29s behind race winner Armel Le Cléac’h who finished in a time of 74 days, 3 hours and 35 minutes, a new race record.

Thomson covered 27,636 nm averaging 15.39 knots knots during the race, which began from Les Sables d’Olonne on November 6 last year.

The race, which was founded in 1989, follows the ‘clipper route’ around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, Australia’s Cape Leeuwin and South America’s Cape Horn.

Third-placed Jérémie Beyou is expected to cross the finish line on Monday morning (23rd January).