Hugo Deck successfully defended his Maxi-Race title across the final weekend of May, winning the 105km Adidas Terrex Maxi-Race around Lake Annecy in 9:48:14. The French race, a fixture of the early-season Alpine trail calendar, sends runners on a complete circuit of the lake by way of the surrounding mountains, with more than 5,500m of climbing packed into a route that rewards both strong legs and patient pacing.
Deck's second consecutive victory was earned the hard way. For much of the first half he ran in close company with Theo Detienne and Yannick Noel, the trio trading the lead as the course climbed away from the lakeshore and into the high ground above Annecy. It was only in the second half, as the accumulated vertical began to bite, that Deck found a decisive gap, eventually crossing the line just ahead of Detienne after the best part of ten hours on his feet.
Completing the loop in under ten hours over that much climbing is no small feat, and Deck's time stands comparison with the strongest editions of the race. His ability to back up a 2025 win with another front-running performance marks him out as one of the most reliable long-distance trail runners on the French scene, a category that has produced a steady stream of UTMB contenders in recent years.
The women's race delivered its own hard-fought podium, with Anna Llewellyn and Blandine Orsini among those battling through the mountains above the lake. As with the men, the decisive separations came late, the relentless climbing and technical descents around the Annecy basin gradually sorting the field over the closing third of the course. The depth on display underlined the Maxi-Race's standing as more than a regional event.
Annecy serves as an important early-summer test for runners building towards the sport's marquee dates, from the Lavaredo Ultra Trail in the Dolomites later in June to the UTMB finals at the end of August. For Deck, a second straight Maxi-Race title is both a confidence boost and a statement of intent; for the wider field, the weekend offered a demanding day in the mountains and a useful gauge of form before the season's biggest ultras arrive.