After a controlled race from start to finish, Slovenian Martina Klancnik Potrc wins the flagship race of this Nice Côte d’Azur by UTMB. The two French women Nanihi Dantin and Marianne Leroux complete the podium thanks to excellent race management.
With a less dense female field than on the men’s side, the door was open for great achievements on this 100 miles of the Nice Côte d’Azur by UTMB, and it certainly happened.
Only the great favorite, Martina Klancnik Potrc lived up to expectations, winning after 29 hours and 25 minutes of racing. Behind her, the two best podium candidates on paper, French runner Pauline Carré and British runner Myvanwy Hanna both abandoned the race early in the night, caught out by the difficulty of the Côte d’Azur course.
One woman’s loss is another’s gain, and the formula smiles on the French, as two French women claimed the remaining podium places. Nanihi Dantin takes second place in 31 hours and 26 minutes after an impressive comeback. Solid throughout the race, Marianne Leroux finishes in third place in 32 hours and 03 minutes.
Of the 67 women who started this flagship distance, only 26 finished the race, 10 are still racing, and 31 unfortunately had to abandon.
The technical descents made the difference
Alone in the lead on the women’s side after just a few kilometers of racing, Martina Klancnik Potrc dominated this 100 miles. Leading at every aid station, she continuously increased her lead kilometer after kilometer. In contrast to the men’s 100 miles where only a single minute separates first from second, the Slovenian won by more than two hours ahead of her runners-up.
Nanihi Dantin, a surprise guest on this podium claimed second place in her first 100 miles : « absolutely no podium in sight for me at the start so I’m really happy with this result, plus it was beautiful, so it’s a perfect day. Until 50 kilometers from the finish, I didn’t even know I was in the running for a podium. We’re so far apart from each other that you don’t always know where you stand. »
15th after 3 hours of racing, it was during the night that the French runner made the difference, gaining positions one by one: « I enjoy the descents, that’s where I can make up positions so I had fun with it. I struggled a bit with nutrition, I didn’t eat much but it held up. »
Bronze medalist, Marianne Leroux was also delighted with this podium : « a very playful course, technical, we had great weather, so really fun. I’m really happy with my third place, I wasn’t expecting a podium. »
Complicit on the podium, the two surprise medalists joked about their race: « We crossed paths for two seconds, Nanihi was going so fast on the descent that I barely saw her. »
The two young women will need to raise their objectives for next season, as this position qualifies them directly for the UTMB World Series 2027 finals, in Chamonix, a fine reward after more than 30 hours of effort.
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