News
The 15th edition of the adidas terrex maxi-race
In 2026, it will be the 15th edition of the adidas TERREX MaXi-Race (no edition in 2020 because of the Covid). For this 15th edition, the local authorities and organizers have worked together to offer you a unique course, better adapted to the changing weather conditions from year to year. Indeed, in recent years, hot weather has had an impact on the Race , and thunderstorms at the end of the day have often forced us to switch to "fallback courses". So, in collaboration with local authorities and alpacists, we have redesigned the route 100%. The aim was to have shaded areas during the hottest periods and more easily secured areas at the end of the day. Of course, all the while retaining iconic sections with views of Mont-Blanc, the lake and the mountains at sunrise and sunset!
This work is currently being finalized, with a few details still to be fine-tuned. The routes will let you discover the lake as no one
has seen it since 2011, when the MaXi was born!
What we can already tell you is that the event will go in the opposite direction to the first 15 years. The contours are on the site, but don't look for the GPX tracks - we'll keep them secret for as long as possible...
CONTENTS
Click on one of the news items below to find out more:
- The event will turn in the opposite direction
- The location of MaXi-Village will change again in 2026
- The Shokz-Race evolves and becomes the Shokz-Demi tOur, which departs from Doussard.
- The Marathon-eXpérience evolves: the 2026 version will be a loop
- Entertainment at the C
- Refuelling area A at tOur du lac will be completely closed.
- The quarter-tour will be a "negative trail".
The event will turn in the opposite direction
This is the big novelty. This year, the tOur du lac will run in the opposite direction to previous editions, i.e. clockwise. This decision is the result of a number of factors observed over the last few editions, including changing weather conditions (hot weather, storms, etc.). The local authorities, the various local players and the adidas TERREX MaXi-Race organization worked together to propose a new course, with the idea of providing shaded areas during hot weather and more easily secured areas at the end of the day, often subject to thunderstorms, while retaining the event's iconic sections with views of Mont-Blanc, the lake and the mountains at sunrise and sunset.
For all the races, the last mountain to be climbed will be the Semnoz and its 360° views (Mont Blanc, Tournette, Lac du Bourget...).
- The first mountain to be climbed will be the Massif du Veyrier, and the routes will be adapted to suit the fact that it will be night-time and during the start phase (route kept secret).
- for most of you, sunrise will be at a point with a magical panoramic view.
- A few kilometers from the finish, just before the last feed station, you'll enjoy a 360° view, then a descent to the lakeside to reach the finish.
New location for MaXi-Village in the Marquisats parking lot
Following constructive discussions with some of Annecy's elected representatives, we were able to identify a new, appropriate location for MaXi-Village.
MaXi-Village will be located in the Marquisats parking lot.
Please note that the few parking lots in this area are very quickly saturated, so we advise against coming by car. The organizers will be running special shuttle buses from out-of-town park-and-ride facilities. We are in the process of defining these parking lots. The first one we've defined is at the Parc des Sports d'Annecy, and we'll be adding to it as and when we get the go-ahead.
The Shokz-Race evolves into the Shokz-Demi Tour, which starts in Doussard.
The Shokz-Demi tOur will start from Doussard and will cover between 52 and 57 km with between 3000 and 3500m of D+. The route passes at an altitude of 1650m, through a viewpoint as magical as ever! A minimum level
of 43 pts Betrail will be required to register.
THE marathon-experience is evolving: the 2026 version will be a loop
The Marathon-eXpérience will be between 38 and 42km long, starting and finishing in Annecy (in a loop). This helps reduce the number of bus and car journeys during the event. The route will take in an iconic viewpoint over 1500m above sea level.
Entertainment at the Semnoz C feed station
The Semnoz feed zone C will be animated with children's games and other activities.
A private shuttle bus will run from Annecy to this area.
The A (secret) feed zone on the lake shore will be completely closed.
The first refreshment area at tOur du lac will be completely off-limits to assistants, chaperones, spectators and relay runners (except for those who finish or take their relay at this point). All vehicles (except those belonging to the organization) will be prohibited. Relay runners taking or arriving from their relay must take the bus between Annecy and this point. Zone A will be kept secret for as long as possible.
The Quart de tOur will be a "Negatif Trail".
In 2026, the Quart de tOur du lac will receive a special mention: "Negative Trail", as the course will be mostly downhill. The concept was tried and tested several years ago, so we're looking forward to seeing you in May to rediscover this type of Race.