Promenade des Anglais, Nice, France 4 Jan 2026
Source: https://www.promclassic.com/
🏃ATHLETICS: 10 km Prom’Classic Nice 2026 (FRA) ᯓ🏃🏻♀️➡️
10 km Prom’Classic🏃♀️🏃🏾♂️
📅 4 janvier 2026 -SOLD OUT
🥇10 Km le plus dense de France
The Prom’Classic Nice is widely regarded as France’s premier season-opening road race. Held annually in January along the Mediterranean coast, it has evolved from a local gathering into one of Europe’s fastest and most prestigious 10 km events.
Below is a breakdown of its history, evolution, and significance.
📅 Origins and Evolution
The Prom’Classic was founded in 2000. It was designed to provide runners with a “clean slate” for the New Year, taking advantage of the mild winter climate on the French Riviera.
- Steady Growth: Starting with a few thousand local enthusiasts, the race now regularly hits its capacity of 15,000 participants, often selling out months in advance.
- The Route: The course is famously flat and follows a simple out-and-back loop on the Promenade des Anglais. It starts near the Théâtre de Verdure, heads west toward the Nice Côte d’Azur Airport, and returns for a finish overlooking the Baie des Anges.
- Elite Appeal: Because the course is almost entirely flat (with only about 35m of elevation gain) and often shielded from heavy winds, it has become a “PB hunter’s” paradise, attracting world-class athletes seeking records early in the year.
🏆 Record-Breaking Moments
The Prom’Classic is consistently one of the highest-quality 10 km races in France. In 2023, for example, more than 23 runners finished under the 30-minute mark, a testament to the course’s speed.
Current Event Records
| Category | Athlete | Time | Year |
| Men | Azeddine Habz (FRA) | 27:44 | 2025 |
| Women | Jana Van Lent (BEL) | 30:09 | 2026 |
Recent Historical Milestones
- European Record (2026): Just recently, Belgian runner Jana Van Lent shattered the European 10 km record at this event, clocking a blistering 30:09. She surpassed the long-standing mixed-race record held by legend Paula Radcliffe.
- French National Records: In 2025, Sarah Madeleine equaled the French national record of 31:15 on this course, while Azeddine Habz set the current men’s course record.
- Youth Records: The race is a frequent site for national age-group records. In 2025, Martin Hubner set a French U20 record with a time of 29:02.
👟 Cultural Significance
Beyond the elite performance, the Prom’Classic is a cornerstone of Nice’s sporting identity.
- The “New Year Resolution” Race: It is marketed as the perfect way to burn off the “excesses of the festive period.”
- Inclusivity: The event offers both timed (competitive) and non-timed (leisure) options, allowing teenagers (16+) and amateurs to run alongside some of the world’s best distance runners.
- Post-Race Tradition: Runners traditionally receive a collector’s medal and often enjoy the local hospitality of the “Vieux Nice” (Old Town) immediately following the finish.
The 2026 edition of the Prom’Classic Nice (held on January 4, 2026) was a historic day for record-breaking, most notably yielding a new European Record and multiple National Records.1
🌍 The Headline: A New European Record
The standout performance came from Belgian athlete Jana Van Lent, who dominated the women’s race.2
- The Record: She finished in 30:09 (some sources initialy reported 30:10), which is a new European Record for a 10 km road race.3
- Who she beat: Her time surpassed the legendary Paula Radcliffe’s mixed-race European record of 30:21 (set in 2003) and Eilish McColgan’s women’s-only record of 30:19 (set in 2022).4
- The Split: She passed the halfway mark (5 km) in a blistering 14:42, which is itself faster than the Belgian national record for a standalone 5 km race.5
🇱🇺 Luxembourg National Record
In the same race, Vera Bertemes-Hoffmann set a new National Record for Luxembourg.6 She completed the 10 km course in 33:37, shaving 9 seconds off her own previous record.
🇫🇷 French Performance
While no absolute national record fell for the French seniors this year, the race remained incredibly fast for the home crowd:
- Gaston Rohmer, only 20 years old, won the men’s race in 28:28.7
- Alessia Zarbo was the top French woman, finishing second overall in 31:11, a world-class time that solidifies her position at the top of the French rankings.8
Summary of Top Results (2026)
| Athlete | Country | Time | Achievement |
| Jana Van Lent | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 30:09 | European & Belgian Record |
| Vera Bertemes-Hoffmann | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 33:37 | Luxembourg National Record |
| Gaston Rohmer | 🇫🇷 France | 28:28 | Men’s Race Winner |
