In the final stretch, one last glance behind to ensure that his competitors remained at a distance, and the German Andreas Seewald was able to raise his arms at the finish line of the Ford Roc Marathon. Less than four hours of effort (3 hours, 59 minutes, and 1 second) to complete the 91.3 kilometers and 2,300 meters of positive elevation gain, marking his second victory after the one in 2021 (he finished 3rd last year). At the age of 32, Seewald, who placed 10th in the recent World Marathon Championships, finished 18 seconds ahead of the Colombian Hector Leonardo Paez Leon (5th in the Worlds and also a regular participant in Roc d'Azur) and nearly two minutes ahead of the Italian Samuele Porro (the 2018 winner). "I fought in the first part of the race to stay in touch with the leaders," analyzed the German, who recently became the national champion for the second time two weeks ago. "I was quite confident. I had thought about starting the Canyon Gravel Roc this Saturday, but since I'm in good shape, I'll try to recover well and refocus for Sunday instead."
Wearing his French marathon champion jersey, young Axel Roudil-Cortinat (3rd in 2021) finished as the top French rider, just outside the podium. "I came with ambitions because it was the last race of the year," explained the Frenchman. "I hoped for a podium, but I finished fourth, that's the way it goes. Everything shifted around the 70th kilometer. We were a large group of about fifteen riders, and unfortunately, I was behind. I tried to make the effort to catch up, but no one helped me, and I paid for it in the end. Still, it's a good result."
Last year's sprint winner, Hugo Drechou, lost all hopes of repeating his victory... just 30 meters after the start, he suffered a chain break on the first pedal strokes.
In the women's race, the Lithuanian Katazina Sosna, already victorious in 2019 and 2021, left no chance for her competitors. Leading from the start of the race, the former road specialist didn't see any rivals again. She finished in 4 hours and 58 minutes, marking her third emotional victory. "Honestly, for me, the Roc d'Azur is the most beautiful race in the world," she said. "I've been coming here for many years, and I hold this race close to my heart. This victory is very special because it's my last Roc d'Azur since, at almost 33 years old, I'm ending my career in a few days." Just over two minutes behind the day's winner, the Frenchwoman Tatiana Tournut, only 19 years old and a double junior French champion, took a very impressive second place. "We started very fast," recounted the young Franc-Comtoise, who had previously participated in the XCO World Cup but was competing in her first marathon. "It's great to finish the season like this after many tough moments this year. Especially here. I've been coming to the Roc since I was little. My parents participated in tandem, and I took over with a victory in junior three years ago and a second place in cadet. This was my first marathon. It's obviously long, but I enjoyed it." Estelle Mortel completed the podium.
