Falmouth sailor Sam Goodchild is on course for the best ever result by a Brit in the Solitaire du Figaro offshore race after finishing the Gijon to Roscoff stage in 14th place.

Goodchild crossed the line in a time of 2 days, 12 hours and 29 minutes, 20 minutes ahead of second leg winner Armel le Cleac'h, leaving him tenth overall with just one leg to go.

The previous best ever finish by a British sailor came in 2011, when Jersey's Phil Sharp finished 18th.

Former Olympic 49er Morgan Lagraviere came home in first place, followed by Nicolas Lunven and Xavier Macaire. 

In the overall rankings, Frederic Duthil's 8th place finish sees him take top spot, with early race leader Yann Elies dropping down into third just behind Lagraviere.

The fleet set out from northern Spain on Thursday on their 436 mile trip, crossing deep water in the Bay of Biscay before looping around the'Île-d'Yeu off the Vendee coast of France.

From there the boats hugged the coast, negotiating the treacherous Raz du Sein before rounding the tip of Brittany and heading into Roscoff.

Goodchild's fellow Artemis Offhsore Academy graduates Nick Cherry, Jack Bouttell, and Devon's Henry Bomby finished 27th, 28th and 31st respecitvely.

The competitors now have four days' rest until the fourth and final leg gets underway between Roscoff and Dieppe in northern France.

The final stage is perhaps the most technically difficult of them all, taking the fleet towards the South West of England and Wolf Rock before veering east and hugging the British coastline, then finally turning south towards the finish.