With European autumn in full swing, Challenge Vieux Boucau kicks off the Challenge Family autumn calendar on Saturday, October 10. In a month where Challenge Vieux Boucau, Challenge Peguera-Mallorca, Challenge Wanaka Multi, Challenge Shanghai, Challenge Forte Village, and Challenge Barcelona follow one another in quick succession, the battle begins in France.
Challenge Vieux Boucau has delivered exciting racing over the past few years, highlighted by a thrilling sprint finish between Mathis Margirier and Mika Noodt in 2023. Such a highlight could be on the cards this year, especially among the men, with a deep and competitive starting field. The favorite is perhaps French athlete Pierre Dupuy, who will have the support of the home crowd and has proven to be very consistent with a world ranking of #68. That Dupuy’s form is right where it needs to be was evident last month when he won the Gérardmer XL. Of the seven races he entered this year, he finished in the top ten all seven times, secured three podium finishes, and took one victory.
The Brit Thomas Davis and Belgian Emmanuel Lejeune are two of the biggest contenders to Dupuy; both men are barely apart in the rankings and are both podium contenders for Challenge Vieux-Boucau. Davis has already competed nine times this year, including five Challenge Family races. His best finish was a seventh place at Challenge Gdańsk, and his most recent result was 13th at the European Long Distance Championship at Challenge Almere-Amsterdam. Lejeune, for his part, raced seven times in 2026 finishing on the podium twice: he won OpenLakes Champagne and placed second at IM 70.3 Hradec Králové.
As always, plenty can happen and there are always dangerous outsiders. The Brit Joshua Lewis is perhaps the best example, but Casimir Moine and Maximilian Sperl are also tipped as men to keep a close eye on. In total, more than forty professional men are on the start list.
In the women’s race, 15 athletes make up a strong field that, on paper, will hardly differ in level. The main favorite appears to be Finland’s Minttu Hukka, who is the only athlete in the field ranked inside the top one hundred with a #94 ranking. Last month Hukka finished 11th at Challenge Samarkand, and a few months earlier she took a fantastic third place at Challenge St. Pölten. A 10th place finish at Challenge Sir Bani-Yas and an 11th at The Championship have already indicated the excellent form of the Finnish star.
The most dangerous contenders appear to be women such as France’s Eloise Du Luart, Spain’s Sofia Aguayo, Britain’s Jasmine Holmes and Germany’s Saskia Haug. With the rolling bike course of Challenge Vieux-Boucau, where there are no truly steep climbs but neither is it flat, certain athletes will undoubtedly rise to the top, making form on the day likely to be decisive.
For further information, visit www.challenge-vieuxboucau.com. Racing will start at 10am local time on Saturday 10 October with live timing and a live stream (French only) available via the event website.