40th Roc d'Azur CIC, October 9-13, Fréjus (Var). Loana Lecomte wins the Ford Roc Marathon (103 km). Swiss Casey South wins the men's race.
First-time participants won over from the start
Hiking, children and families on Saturday's program.
TODAY ON THE ROC D'AZUR CIC
On the one hand, extreme effort. 103 km in the Massif des Maures with 2,700 m of ascent. At the finish line of the Ford Roc Marathon, legs are heavy. Faces are scarred, and glances bear witness to the intensity of the moment. Behind the top runners, who took less than 5 hours, some needed twice as much. No matter. That's not the point. On the other side, no time, no ranking. Just the joy and privilege of riding the Esterel and Maures massifs in Rando mode. Distances to suit all levels, and even the possibility of riding gravel or electrically-assisted mountain bikes. There was plenty of activity in the village too, with visitors happy to discover all the offerings and the 300 exhibitors delighted to present all their new products and nuggets. Disrupted on Thursday by the wind, the entertainment also resumed. With ever more decibels, ever more show!
CHAMPIONS OF THE DAY
“It’s the first time in my life that I’m going to do a marathon. It will be a good experience. We’ll see what happens. I’m curious to see how I will feel after five hours of racing”. On Friday morning, at sunrise on the starting line of the Ford Roc Marathon, Loana Lecomte was still asking herself a few questions before tackling the 103 km and 2,700 m of gradient on the route for the toughest race at the 40th edition of Roc d’Azur CIC. A little more than five hours later, she had the answers, with a superb victory in 5:17’56’’. One week after her success in the cross-country world cup at Mont Sainte-Anne (Canada), the 25-year-old Frenchwoman and two-times French champion this year on shorter distances, confirmed that she is on top form, following on from Lithuanian Kataržina Sosna, last year’s winner, and Léna Gérault, the last Frenchwoman to climb onto the top step of the podium, in 2022. “I was fine for 95 km, but the end was tough,” she said. “Five hours is okay, but more than that is too much! But it was a great experience. I wanted to take advantage of my good late season form and tackle a few challenges. It’s given me the urge to do it again… but not tomorrow! The route was wonderful, with steep climbs and nice, tricky descents. It suited me fine. Some of the girls started off strongly, but I stayed at my own pace and rode my own race. That’s my season finished, now. It has been long, with ups and downs, but now it’s time for a break”. The Frenchwoman, who was unlucky at the Olympic Games (due to a fall), was able to savour this final success of the season, finishing 23 minutes ahead of Italian Sandra Mairhofer (Swiss rider Chrystelle Baumann finished third). “The Roc holds a lot of childhood memories for me,” admitted the French rider. “It was the first big event in which I took part. Every year, it was what I was waiting for. Now, I try to come and participate whenever I can. It’s important for me to be here for the youngsters and to pass on what previous champions passed on to me when I was a young girl”.
Swiss rider Casey South triumphs after a sprint finish
In the men’s race, Swiss rider Casey South tasted victory after a sprint finish against Italian champion Fabian Rabensteiner, with whom he broke away around twenty kilometres from the finish. “It’s a great way to finish this season,” he delightedly declared. “The tracks were really great with some steep but not too long climbs and tricky descents. I had a wonderful time”. Wearing his Italian champion’s jersey, Fabien Rabensteiner, who finished second at the marathon world cup and twice in the same place on the Roc Marathon in 2021 and 2022, as well as third in 2017, was unable to match the Swiss rider’s final effort. “I’m happy to be on the podium, even if I can’t genuinely be satisfied with second place. I just didn’t have quite enough at the finish, but Casey was really strong today. I’ll be back next year to win”. Twelfth-placed Lucas Grieco was the first Frenchman to finish (with a time of 4:46’52’’), just ahead of Basile Allard. “I rode for three hours with the leading group, but I dropped back on the steep climbs to avoid making the same mistake as two years ago when I started too quickly,” explained Grieco, who will now be concentrating on road racing. “I preferred to manage my efforts. That said, I was more or less spent for the last twenty minutes and was in survival mode”.
STAT OF THE DAY - 39%
The percentage of first time Roc d’Azur CIC participants for this 2024 edition. For most mountain biking aficionados, Roc d’Azur CIC is an essential event. Each year, many of them take the week off to come and take part in the fun, often participating in several different races. “We’ve come from all the way from Lille, so it makes sense to make the most of the trip and do a race each day,” smiled a participant at the starting line for the Ford Roc Marathon. However, for more than a third of the entrants, this 40th edition is a major first. Isabelle came from Brittany. For the first time, she loaded her mountain bike into the boot of her vehicle. “I’ve been coming along to accompany my husband for years,” she said at the finish of the Rando Estérel 48 K Électrique. “I wanted to enjoy the atmosphere too. It's been on my mind ever since these leisure rides were organized in the Massif de l’Estérel mountains. Now I've done it! And how beautiful it was! It was the first time, but certainly not the last time”. On the Ford Roc Marathon, Cyril, who arrived from the Brussels region, was equally enthusiastic. “My friends with whom I ride every Sunday wouldn't stop talking to me about it, so it was time for me to come and see for myself. To make the most of it, I chose the Marathon and its 103 km! It's a first time that I'll always remember”.
SATURDAY'S PROGRAM
Roc d’Azur CIC can also be fully enjoyed without thinking too much about your time or finishing place. With plenty of leisure rides on the programme, Saturday offers a host of possibilities, with routes ranging from 23 to 49 km (Allltricks.com Rando Noire 49 K and Shimano Rando Noire Électrique 49 K for the two longest), also open to enthusiasts of electrically assisted cycling.
The little ones will also have their moment in the limelight with the Kid Roc Draisienne (2 to 3-year-olds) and the Kid Roc Mini (4 to 5- year-olds). In the afternoon, it will be the turn for older children in the traditional Kids Roc (6 to 14-year-olds), with events ranging from 2 to 8 km depending on age. Last but not least, the Rando Famille is an opportunity to enjoy the Roc d'Azur CIC experience and create some great memories to share back home.
A number of more “competitive” events will also be on the program, including the Canyon Gravel Roc (70 km, start at 7:30 a.m.), the fourth of five stages of the Delta Plus Roc Trophy (a competition with one race per day over the five days) and the Roc Cadets/Cadettes and Juniors Femmes (at 8.00).
