Kiprop Kimutai smashes the Marseille-Cassis record, Alessia Zarbo takes the women's win

At the foot of the CEPAC Vélodrome, with sunny spells and 13°C, the elites took off on Sunday morning for the 2026 Marseille-Cassis - AG2R LA MONDIALE. From the first metres, four men broke clear and hit 5K together in 14:52. Kenya's Gilbert Kipkosgei Kiprotich (26) was the favourite, with his compatriot Kiprop Kimutai (22) as his pacemaker. The script seemed written. Except the pacemaker read his contract his own way. With his leader slower than expected, he took over, reached 10K alone in 31:19 (32 seconds clear of Djibouti's Houssein Sougueh, 49 on Kiprotich), stretched his lead at 15K in 44:51, then covered the last five kilometres at 2:45/km. Arms raised and saluting the crowd in the final 500 metres, the young Kenyan wrapped it up in 58:36. On the mic seconds after finishing, there was no ambiguity about the plan: “I came to win the race.”

That time makes Kimutai the first man under the hour since Ethiopia's Jemal Mekonnen (59:16 in 2017), and gives him the fifth-best performance in the race's history. Above all, it is a record on the current 20.2 km course, since the mark held by his compatriot Edwin Kipyego (57:18 in 2015) was set on a course shortened to 19.6 km. A €5,000 bonus came with it. Behind him, Sougueh (1:00:07) missed the sub-hour by 7 seconds. Uganda's Silas Boch (1:00:26) edged Kiprotich (1:00:28) by a mere 2 seconds. The announced leader ends up fourth, 1:52 behind his own pacemaker. Morocco's Said Kaddour (Alès Cévennes Athlétisme Agglo, 1:01:04) and Congo's Alex-Franck Ngouari-Mouissi (A3 Tours, 1:01:17) complete the top 6.

Enzo Couderchet, the Intersport salesman who delivers

First Frenchman home, seventh in 1:01:38 on his first appearance, Enzo Couderchet (Dijon Université Club, 29) posted the fourth-best French performance in the race's history. A part-time salesman at Intersport, he watched the Africans disappear up the road. “They really took off like jets. We told ourselves they were showing off and would blow up, but apparently not, because they kept that pace.” What followed taught him that the descent is “physically extremely hard, harder than the climb, honestly”. His verdict, no frills: “For a first Marseille-Cassis, it's magical, honestly, it's just crazy!”

Behind him, Valentin André (Neuilly-Plaisance Sport) was eighth in 1:02:11. Alexis Miellet (Dijon UC), 2024 European champion in the 3000 m steeplechase, went under 1:03 (1:02:59, 9th). Quentin Meyleu (Clermont Athlétisme Auvergne) closed out the top 10 in 1:03:34. For Louis Gilavert (SCO Sainte-Marguerite), 16th in 1:04:53, the debut stung. “I'm disappointed, I was hoping for better, but I went out too fast and paid for it later.” He promises to be back “to win it one day”. Local hero Nicolas Navarro (SCO Sainte-Marguerite) made do with what he had to take 17th in 1:04:55. “I'm coming back from injury, I'm not at 100% yet and I knew I couldn't work miracles.” He finished with a smile. “Shall we meet again next year for a tenth one?”

Alessia Zarbo, the last-minute invitee

In the women's race, a showdown was expected between Mélody Julien and Alessia Zarbo, the second-fastest Frenchwoman ever over the half marathon. The showdown happened, just not as planned. Zarbo (Nice Côte d'Azur Athlétisme, 25) took the lead by 5K (16:54) and never gave it up. She won in 1:09:04 on her first try, the third-best French performance in the race's history. Her story is worth telling. “I want to thank Laurent (Manneveau, sports director of SCO Sainte-Marguerite, the organising club), who invited me to run at the last minute. I was coming back from an injury picked up at the half marathon world championships and hadn't run for a month.” The cure was cycling. “I rode a lot during that period, which ended up helping me on the climb!”

The French swept the podium. Ophélie Serra-Boxberger (Montbéliard Belfort Athlétisme, 38) was second in 1:09:44, the fourth-best French performance in the race, with an eye on the Valencia Marathon. The tailwind helped her on the climb “but can also be a bit dangerous on the descent”. And the pride is there: “French women have taken over in recent years.” Sarah Hasni (Alès Cévennes Athlétisme) completed the podium in 1:11:02, ahead of Manon Coste (Team MY Thermique, 1:11:33) and Mélody Julien (Association Multisports Montredonnaise), fifth in 1:12:08 after finishing 2nd last year (1:07:16). Augustine Emeraux Lombard (Nancy Athlétisme Métropole, 1:14:00), Anne Moulin Vens (Athlétisme Lozère, 1:14:13) and Latifa Mokhtari (Alsace Nord Athlétisme, 1:15:33) followed.

First on the road, and the celebrities

At 8:45 a.m., the handisport athletes had already kicked things off. Adrien Chollois (Foulées de Saint-Germain-en-Laye) won in 1:39:55, more than 15 minutes ahead of Charles Terranova (1:55:03) and Franck Paget (1:58:18). Latifa Taleb was the first woman in 2:05:43. Among the guests, comedian Arnaud Tsamère aimed for 1:27 and finished in 1:27:44, after passing 228 runners on the Gineste (47:00 at 10K). TV presenter Ophélie Meunier finished in 1:46:13, ahead of three former stars of the Cercle des Nageurs de Marseille who took their time: Olympic champion Alain Bernard (1:50:28), Camille Lacourt (2:17:02) and Laure Manaudou (2:20:43), back eight years after her first run.

In Cassis, everyone won something

Kiprop Kimutai's time (58:36) and Alessia Zarbo's win made the headlines, but the real story of Marseille-Cassis - AG2R LA MONDIALE was written in the pack. 20,000 fadas on the start line, from 80 countries, aged 17 to 87, 56% of them first-timers and 38% women, with one runner in two from the Bouches-du-Rhône. Everyone received a 250 ml soft flask, for a first edition with no plastic bottles at the aid stations. Arnaud Tsamère passed 228 runners on the Gineste and hit his 1:27 target. Laure Manaudou, seven months after her first marathon, savoured the Calanques, while an injured Nicolas Navarro never gave up and is already setting a date for a tenth start. At the back of the pack, Finishers and Hyundai ran alongside the last runners home, and some are leaving with a bib for 2027. See you there.