Nice Côte d'Azur by UTMB®
Nice Côte d'Azur by UTMB® – Eze - Nice - 50K
Eze → Nice
Race guide
Updated 19 July 2026
The Eze - Nice 50K is one of the marquee distances of Nice Côte d'Azur by UTMB, linking the perched medieval village of Eze to the Mediterranean seafront in Nice. Over 50 km it climbs 1903 m and reaches a high point of 1058 m, trading the balconied hills above the coast for a finish at sea level on the edge of the city. What defines the race is its top-heavy profile: a single dominant climb early, then a long, undulating descent back toward the water. From a start at 491 m in Eze the course pushes up into the hills before threading down through La Trinité and over the Plateau St Michel to a finish at just 10 m in Nice. It is a course that rewards restraint on the way up and durable legs on the way down.
The Course: From a Perched Village to the Sea
The race begins in Eze at 491 m, the hilltop village suspended above the Côte d'Azur, and the opening kilometres roll across the hillside to Col De Guerre at 9.4 km (551 m) before the real climbing starts. The route then works up to Emetteur Mmd at 16.2 km (998 m), close to the course high point of 1058 m and the rooftop of the day. From there the character of the course flips entirely and it becomes a long descent-led journey toward the coast. After the high ground the trail drops sharply to Laghet-La Trinité at 26.7 km (322 m), a crew point in the valley, then rises again over the Plateau St Michel at 40.2 km (390 m) before the final descent into Nice, finishing at 10 m by the sea (50 km). With crew points at the Eze start, La Trinité and the Nice finish, support access is concentrated around the two natural low points of the route.
Where the Race Is Won or Lost: The Eze Climb and the Descents
The decisive climb is the pull from the Col De Guerre area up to Emetteur Mmd — roughly 450 m of gain concentrated in the 7 km between 9.4 km and 16.2 km, arriving at nearly 1000 m. This is the highest and hardest sustained effort of the day, and because it comes early it is easy to overspend here chasing the field. Climb it steadily; the course gives back plenty of downhill afterward where a controlled effort will pay dividends. The bigger risk to your finish time is the descending. From Emetteur Mmd the route sheds nearly 680 m down to Laghet-La Trinité, and after the Plateau St Michel it drops another 380 m to the seafront. Nearly all of the second half is net downhill, and on the dry, rocky terrain typical of the Alpes-Maritimes that means real quad damage if you have not paced the climb well. Save something for the technical drops and the runnable final kilometres into the city.
Pacing and Fuelling to the Cut-Offs
The cut-offs sit at Emetteur Mmd (Sat 12:15), Laghet-La Trinité (Sat 14:50), Plateau St Michel (Sat 18:15) and the Nice finish (Sat 20:30). The tightest relative squeeze is early, at the top of the main climb, so the priority in the first 16 km is simply to reach the high point comfortably inside the limit without blowing your legs. Once over Emetteur Mmd the descending profile makes the later cut-offs more manageable if you keep moving. Aid and crew spacing is widest across the climb, so leave Eze carrying enough to cover the roughly 16 km and 500 m of ascent to the high point. Laghet-La Trinité at 26.7 km is the one mid-race crew point and the logical place to reset — refill, take on real food, and prepare for the Plateau St Michel bump before the run to the sea. The 9.8 km from the Plateau to the finish is fast, descending ground where you will want fuel already on board rather than stopping.
Conditions to Expect
This is a Mediterranean coastal-mountain course, and the defining condition is heat and sun exposure on the hills of the Côte d'Azur. The high point of 1058 m is modest, but the balcony terrain above Nice offers little shade and radiates heat off dry, rocky ground, so hydration and sun management matter more here than raw altitude. Expect a warm start in Eze and potentially hot going on the exposed climb to Emetteur Mmd. With a finish cut-off of Sat 20:30, most of the field will race in daylight, but slower runners should be prepared for fading light near the coast and carry a headtorch as required by UTMB kit rules. The finish at the Nice seafront is a low-altitude, likely warm and humid setting, a sharp contrast to the airy hilltops above — plan your clothing and fluids for a course that runs from perched village heat to sea-level coast.
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Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-17) · official source
0 km · 491 m · —
9.4 km · 551 m · —
16.2 km · 998 m · Sat 12:15
26.7 km · 322 m · Sat 14:50
40.2 km · 390 m · Sat 18:15
50 km · 10 m · Sat 20:30
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