For its 40the This year’s 2026 Yole Race is full of surprises. A guest—certainly a familiar face, but one who stands out this year—will be joining the event. Félix Mérine, a yole rower and mayor of Le Robert, will be part of the Caracoli Association’s crew. The mayor will once again be representing UFR/Chanflor.
In a video, Félix Mérine can be seen training. Wearing a T-shirt, with his paddle in the pool and his feet on the ground, he rows vigorously. «I’m a mayor, but I’ve been a rower since I was born,» explains Félix Mérine. The mayor, elected three months ago to lead Le Robert, has been a rower since the age of 12. His political and business career—he heads a transportation company—has not overshadowed his passion for the sea. «I was a business owner, and I was a yole rower. I’m mayor, and I’m a yole rower.»
Even though Félix Mérine hasn’t been the captain of the rowing boat since 2023, he’s eager to make himself available to the crew. «If they need me, I’ll be there 100 percent. I train all the time. When I don’t have time to go out with them, I train at home.» Just as in 2025, yole racing fans might see the man who won eleven races as skipper cutting through the waves. Back in 2025, Félix Mérine had already taken his place aboard UFR/Chanflor as a crew member under the command of Marc-Daniel Labourg. «I gave my spot to Marc-Daniel Labourg, who’s doing great—a lovely young man. As soon as he needs me, I’ll be there—that’s for sure.»
More than just a passion, rowing is a way of life for the new mayor of Le Robert. «I don’t swim in my pool—I paddle,» he jokes. «I’m a competitor,» he continues more seriously. One thing is clear: he won’t miss the 40the edition of this yole race. «If the young people need me, I’ll be in a yole this year as mayor.» At 64, the mayor of Le Robert says he’s in great shape and has nothing left to prove to anyone. «I know my worth. I know what I’ve accomplished. It’s true that this will be unusual, even unprecedented, because I’m the mayor, but first and foremost, I’m a yole rower. I was born a yole rower; I am a yole rower.»
The 40the The Tour des Yoles will begin on July 26 in Sainte-Anne, where it will conclude on August 2. Le Robert will host one stage. «This anniversary edition pays tribute to the pioneers of the competition by naming each stage after the first skippers who participated in the very first race in 1985. The final stage will thus be named after Désiré Lamon, the event’s first-ever winner,» states the Round Yole Federation.
Laurianne Nomel
