Rollerski: the Xrace celebrates its 10th edition
Global warming continues to shake up the way Nordic sports are organised. In winter, natural snow is becoming scarcer every year, forcing more and more frequent cancellations. In summer, too, roller-ski competitions are being disrupted by rising temperatures. The latest example is the decision by the Xrace adventure to bring forward its 2026 event by two weeks. It will take place on Friday 29 and Saturday 30 May, after two years of heatwaves on competition days.
Another major change is that the race, which is contested on skis, wheels or rollerblades , will no longer start at the end of the night, at around 5.30 am. ” The start will be at 6.30pm on Friday, so that the end of the race coincides with sunset”, explains organiser Guillaume Demangeon. The route itself remains unchanged: the event will start in Bédoin (Vaucluse) and finish at the top of Mont Ventoux, after 21km. The record for the climb has been held since 2019 by Adrien Backscheider , at 1 h 24 min 51.
“One of the last ski-wheel races in France”.
The Ventoux is a favourite venue for distance runners and biathletes from the French national teams, who are quick to set up summer training camps there. But the Xrace is the only rollerski race organised on Mont Chauve.
It’s one of the last wheel-ski races in France,” says Guillaume Demangeon. It’s a sport with a future, given climate change and the increasing scarcity of snow. It would be a shame for it to die out. The organiser defends the significance of his event: “It’s tough but atypical in a legendary location. The site is so much in demand that it’s always exceptional to be able to organise a race in this setting.
The Géant de Provence also hosts a trail and a French Mountain Bike Cup event in March, a grand raid in April, a half-marathon in July, a night-time trail and a triathlon in September. Until 2023, it was also the site of a UCI cycling race in June, the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge.
It’s an event with Lenny Martinez, Colombia’s Miguel Angel Lopez and Russia’s Aleksandr Vlasov on its roll of honour. Above all, the mountain is one of the Tour de France’s legendary climbs. In July 2025, Valentin Paret-Peintre won here. In August, the women’s Grande Boucle will stop here, the day after L’Étape du Tour.
250 participants expected, 400 hoped for
The Xrace is not limited to rollerskiing: “There are five different race formats, ranging from two to four climbs, solo or in relays. You can do the climb on a mountain bike, trail bike or road bike. On the other hand, wheel-skiing is the only discipline you can do on your own, in time trial mode with a ranking”. All the climbs other than roller-skiing will be completed on Saturday.
To celebrate the 10th edition, a concert will be held on Saturday evening. 250 competitors were registered in previous years. The organisers hope that this number will rise to 400 participants, including around fifty on skis and wheels.
