BBC SPORT | Special Events | 2001 | MacArthur in the Mondial

Ellen MacArthur could have opted for an easy life after her epic round-the-world achievements in Kingfisher.

Instead she has decided to try to crack a new challenge - racing giant trimarans.

The six-race Championnat 9 Telecom series is the highest profile grand prix sailing circuit in France but it is not widely followed around the world.

MacArthur's involvement could change that, in the same way she brought alive the Vendee Globe, a hugely popular race in France, for a wider sporting audience.

She will also continue to race her Open 60 monohull Kingfisher - the boat she raced to second place in the Vendee.

Click here for full list of Ellen's races

But the majority of her season will be spent learning the ropes on Foncia, the 60ft long and 60ft wide trimaran skippered by French yachting great, Alain Gautier.

The pair were an instant success, winning their first race together, the 3,000-mile Challenge Mondial at the beginning of May.

MacArthur currently leads the skippers' world championship rankings table, as compiled by the Forum International de la Course Oc�anique (Fico).

And it appears she is learning fast how to race 60ft trimarans, some of the fastest but most dangerous boats in ocean racing.

Ellen has an extremely hectic schedule
The main goal of the trimaran season is the 4,500-mile Jacques Vabre transatlantic race in November.

Ellen will act as co-skipper to Gautier for the high-risk event, which is limited to just two competitors per boat.

By then if all goes well, Ellen will already have crossed the Atlantic twice on board her beloved Kingfisher.

The last time the Jacques Vabre race was held, in 1999, two of the multihulls somersaulted over.

Gautier was skipper of one of those boats - but he escaped unhurt.

But tragically, Paul Vattine lost his life on the other boat.

At the end of June, Ellen and co-skipper Nick Moloney depart on Kingfisher in the EDS Atlantic Challenge, a two-month race from St Malo to Baltimore and back.

The race is not due to end until 25 August, but Ellen's tough summer schedule has her competing in the next trimaran Grand Prix in Fecamp, northern France, on 28 August.

That may mean she does not stay on board Kingfisher for the duration of the entire EDS Atlantic Challenge race, a new event organised by sailing legend, Sir Chay Blyth.