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Alex Thomson

Hugo Boss II

Born on 18th April 1974 in Bangor (Great Britain)
Lives in Gosport (Great Britain)
IMOCA Skipper since 2003

www.alexthomsonracing.com
www.hugoboss.com
www.hugoboss-sailing.com


   British solo sailor Alex Thomson is a major talent in international yacht racing with the world’s fastest Imoca and a fashionable sponsor, Hugo Boss. He has one dream: to be the first non-Frenchman to win the Vendée Globe; the Everest of yacht racing where the world’s elite solo sailors race non-stop single-handed around the globe.

At 25, he became the youngest skipper ever to win a round-the-world yacht race, when he won the Clipper Race 1998/99. He then went on to win the Round Britain & Ireland Race in 2000 in a record time of 10 days. Renowned for living life on the edge, Thomson set a new 24 hour solo monohull World Speed Record in December 2003 covering 468.7nm at an average speed of 19.5 knots during the Défi Atlantique, in which he finished third.

In September 2003, AT Racing was formed to support and manage Thomson’s bid to win the Vendée Globe, the only single-handed, non-stop round the world yacht race. AT Racing Ltd was set up together with marketing entrepreneur Sir Keith Mills, CEO of the successful London 2012 Olympic bid and Team Principal of TEAMORIGIN, the new British America’s Cup syndicate. Sir Mills is also a keen sailor and met Alex whilst he was part of the crew onboard the winning boat which Alex Thomson skippered to victory in the Clipper '98 round the world race.

Thomson’s skills both as a seaman and a gifted communicator resulted in an enduring sponsorship deal with stylish fashion house Hugo Boss. In October 2005, he vowed to be the first skipper to race three round the world races in three years; the VELUX 5 OCEANS 2006-07, followed by the inaugural two-handed Barcelona World Race 2007 and culminating with the Vendée Globe 2008. Unfortunately Thomson’s yacht HUGO BOSS suffered severe keel failure during the VELUX 5 Oceans, forcing him to abandon ship in the Southern Ocean and retire from the race. The dangerous rescue operation was so diligently filmed by Alex Thomson that Channel 4 commissioned a one-off documentary on the dramatic ordeal.

In December 2007, Thomson’s overcame the treacherous seas of the Southern Ocean, when he gained a podium position in the Barcelona World Race onboard his brand new Open 60 yacht.  This gruelling race non-stop around the world covered 25,000 miles over three months, across the planet’s most hostile oceans. Thomson sailed with Australian co-skipper Andrew Cape. 

Alex now has his sights firmly set on becoming the first Briton to win the Vendee Globe Ocean Race.

 

Results:

- 2007: Alex broke his own 24 hour distance record for a 60 foot monohull yacht. This was Alex’s second world distance record, sailing a distance of 501.3nm at an average speed of 20.9kts
- 2007:  2nd Place Barcelona World Race
- 2006: Competed in the VELUX 5 OCEANS aboard Open 60 “HUGO BOSS” before being dramatically rescued after his yacht suffered keel failure in the Southern Ocean
- 2005: Competed in the Gotland Runt, the Fastnet Race and the Sydney Hobart Race
- 2004: Competed in the Vendée Globe aboard Open 60 “HUGO BOSS” before being forced to retire due to serious boat damage
- 2003: Set new 24 hour solo monohull world speed sailing record covering 468m at an average boat speed of 19.5 knots, Founded Alex Thomson Racing, 3rd in Defi Atlantique solo transatlantic race aboard Open 60 "AT Racing", 2nd in Transat Jacques Vabre with Roland Jourdain aboard Open 60 "Sill", Sailing captain aboard "HUGO BOSS" Farr 65 for Rolex Fastnet Race
- 2000-2003: Founded and headed up the sailing side of Formula 1 Sailing yacht-racing charter company
- 2000: Winner of Round Britain and Ireland race aboard Open 50 “Sail that Dream” in a record timing of 10 days, 3rd in the Europe 1 Newman Star (British Transatlantic Race) aboard Open 50 “Sail that Dream”
- 1998-1999: Winner of the Clipper race and youngest skipper to win a round-the-world yacht race, 7th in the Transat Jacques Vabre with Josh Hall aboard Open 60 “Gartmore”


Title Sponsor

Hugo Boss has been actively involved in sailing since 2003, when it first sponsored Alex Thomson in the legendary Rolex Fastnet Race off the English coast.

Sailing complements the sponsorship portfolio of HUGO BOSS which already includes Formula 1 (Team McLaren Mercedes), IRL (Penske Racing), Tennis (Davis Cup), Golf and Boxing (Vladmir Klitschko). In sailing, HUGO BOSS gets another platform to demonstrate its fashion competence both on the boat with BOSS GREEN and shore-side with BOSS BLACK.
 
BOSS GREEN provides Alex and the crew with highly functional and technical outfits for all possible weather conditions around the globe while BOSS BLACK will dress the crew for every celebration function in the smartest possible way.

Press Contact:   Gail Willows at gail.willows@intotheblue.biz    /    Phone: +44 1983 203527