Albane spent every spare moment on the water, sailing anything she could get her hands on at the Bray-Dunes Yacht Club. By 16, she was already helping to teach others, and before long she became a qualified sailing instructor herself. Every year, the season ended with the Bray-Dunes six-hour regatta. “It was a race with saucisson-and-apéritif breaks, but we competed seriously and took it very seriously, too!” she says with a smile. In 2014, while finishing her physiotherapy thesis, Albane met Bertrand Guillo, a physiotherapist with the French Sailing Federation. He offered her job assisting at training camps for young federation sailors in Quiberon, in northwest France. Always a go-getter, Albane jumped at the opportunity and accepted, just one day after graduating.

As an assistant physiotherapist, she was eager to get back on the water and seized every opportunity to sail with the young athletes during regattas. Fearless and talented, she quickly caught people’s attention. “They told me, ‘You’re tall, fearless – why don’t you try the 49er?’ I didn’t even know the boat, but I said yes straight away. I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” she laughs. The 49er is a light, two-person skiff used in Olympic sailing. Less than 5 metres long, it can reach speeds of more than 20 knots (37 km/h). In August 2014, Albane was invited to take part in her first trials as a crewmate on the 49er FX at the Pôle France de Voile in Marseille. She was selected and moved to Marseille a month later, throwing herself into one ambitious goal: qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – despite having almost no regatta experience.

After a year and three months of preparation, Albane’s Olympic hopes suddenly came to a halt when her helmswoman and skiff partner decided not to continue. But rather than let this setback defeat her, she adapted and moved on. In 2016, she joined the French Sailing Federation as a physiotherapist and also teamed up with 49er FX helmswoman Lili Sebesi, whose determination matched her own. “She already had a lot of experience,” Albane explains. “For me, it was a chance to improve.” The pair trained tirelessly with the French team’s technical coaches, and before long emerged as rising stars on the international circuit. In 2017, they reached the podium at the World Cup Final in Santander, Spain.

After winning the French championship title in 2018 and finishing fourth at the 2020 World Championships in Australia, the duo qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Postponed by a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Games left Albane Dubois with a mixed feelings: “We finished ninth and were frustrated – both by our performance and by the subdued atmosphere with no spectators.”

Back from Tokyo, Albane realized that chapter of her career had come to an end, and the duo went their separate ways. “I felt I’d been there, done that, and wanted to try something new,” Albane recalls. Putting her Olympic ambitions on hold, she began searching for new challenges. After experimenting with the 470 and the Nacra 17 catamaran, she moved into big-boat racing, joining the IRC circuit as crew aboard a large monohull. Suddenly, she was immersed in a passionate world of offshore sailors competing in long-distance regattas and multi-day coastal race events. And for the first time, she was spending nights at sea.

Never short of ideas, Albane also began working toward the Diplôme d’État de la Jeunesse, de l’Éducation Populaire et du Sport (DEJEPS), the French state qualification for professional sports coaches and instructors. 
At the same time, she launched an all-female campaign for theTour de France à la Voile. Eight women make up her Mars’Elles Sailing Team, including four who race aboard the Figaro 3, the class used in the Tour de France à la Voile. Albane competed in both the 2023 and 2024 editions of the Tour, each featuring 20 coastal and offshore stages and covering an impressive 700 nautical miles (1,296 km). 

Albane watched the Paris 2024 Olympic Games from the Marseille marina rather than out on the water. At the time, she was working for a small Marseille-based firm, managing waste from the Olympic site and sorting it on the docks. “I remember thinking, I can’t be here with my head in rubbish bins while others are out having fun on the water!” she says with a wry smile. Once the Games were over, Albane decided to revive her Olympic ambitions in the 49er FX class. She attended a post-Games training camp organized by the French Sailing Federation, where she met Chloé Revil, a promising helmswoman and former kite foil star. After sailing together for a month to “test the waters”, the pair agreed to team up and set their sights firmly on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

At the same time, an unexpected professional opportunity came her way. A manager from the French sailing team told Albane that SNCF was looking to recruit a high-level sailor. “I’d known about the SNCF Athletes Programme for several years, so I applied straight away,” she explains. In May 2025, she signed a special employment agreement (CIP) and joined SNCF Group as Head of CSR Initiatives and School Outreach Programmes at SNCF SA in southern France.

So what, exactly, does Albane do at SNCF? She coordinates and leads the network of SNCF Group volunteers who visit schools to raise awareness among young people about rail safety. “There’s more to me than just sailing,” she says. “This job has shifted my perspective, opened the door to a whole new environment, and shown me what it’s like to work for a major company. It’s also brought me greater calm and clarity. My future no longer depends entirely on the success of my Olympic ambitions.”

As for those ambitions, Alban and her helmswoman, Chloé Revil, already have several major competitions on the horizon. The pair will travel Quiberon, in Brittany, to compete in the 49er FX World Championships from 11 to 17 May this year. After that, they’ll focus on winning a medal at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. “I already know what it feels like to compete in the Olympics,” Albane says with a smile. “This time, I’m going for the medal!”