It was at a sold-out event and at nightfall that the 1st edition of the Village Trail La Colle sur Loup took place on Thursday, July 18th, with 800 runners! With 3 race formats to choose from (children, 8 km, and 12 km), aspiring trail runners, seasoned runners, runners from the Côte d’Azur, and sporty holidaymakers were all present at this unique race!

From the Provençal village to the forest, they climbed the ascent of Avencq, nicknamed “THE WALL”: a category 1 hill, used by the Paris-Nice runners, averaging 9% over nearly 2 km…

The festive nature of this race didn’t prevent the top athletes from the Côte d’Azur from elbowing their way to earn a spot on the podium.

Three races were offered to suit everyone’s needs: children’s races (800m for ages 5-9 & 1.6 km for ages 10-15); 8 km | 264m ascent/descent (timed or non-timed); 12 km | 390m ascent/descent (timed).

In the 12 km event, Fabien LANTERI MINET, from AC VALBONNE, secured the first spot on the podium in 50’55’’, followed by Stéphane GIORDANENGO in 52’12’’, while Geoffrey LANOE, from AS MONACO, took the third spot on the podium in 53’05’’.

In the women’s category, the victory went to the French athlete Caroline BITEAU in 57’53’’, followed by Amandine GINOUVES from ASPTT NICE COTE D’AZUR in second place with 1h00’01’’, and Juliet CHAMPION from STADE LAURENTIN ATHLETISME in third with 1h01’35’’.

In the 8 km race, Olivier BLOCK claimed first place in 36’27’’. For the women, it was Magalie ROSE who took the top spot in 40’28’’.