On the occasion of the Outdoor Festival, which will take place over 3 days, the Alpes-Maritimes department and its partners will promote sports within its territory
From April 29 to May 1, this unprecedented festival, initially scheduled for 2020 but postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis, will unfold along four axes, combining cultural events (Outdoor Camp), experiential activities (Outdoor Experience), competitions (Outdoor Competition), and exhibitions and activities (Outdoor Camp).
For 3 days, the department will buzz with the intense rhythm of Maralpine sports through numerous activities, a village (located in Cannes) featuring 50 exhibitors, 140 sites, 42 athlete ambassadors, and numerous cultural events.
Throughout the festival, an “Outdoor Odyssey” will showcase the uniqueness of the Alpes-Maritimes as a land where any sport is possible thanks to the richness of the Maralpine natural world.
This odyssey takes the form of a relay that will occur over the 3 days of the festival, combining the disciplines practiced by each participating athlete. The Niçois Guillaume Néry (four-time world apnea record holder), the creator of this project, kicked off the event this Friday, April 29 at 7 am in the Baie de Villefranche-sur-Mer.
“This is a project that was born in my mind in 2020. Initially, I wanted to solo connect the depths of the Mediterranean to the highest summit in the department (the peak of Gélas). The event could not take place in 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic. This year, when we were finally able to organize it, we thought it would be more powerful to organize this odyssey, this beautiful adventure, together with all the outdoor representatives of the department.”
After descending 600 meters into the depths, the freediver joined Alexia Barrier’s boat, where the 2021 Vendée Globe participant was accompanied by Alice Modolo (20 French apnea records). Guillaume Néry handed them the baton, which they would then pass on after an 8.5 km swim towards Cap d’Ail to swimmer Alain Bernard.
The legendary French swimmer with 28 medals dove from Barrier’s sailboat and swam the 300 meters to reach the shore, where trail runners Gilles Spagnol, Sébastien Camus, and Sylvain Camus were waiting to receive the baton.
“I am proud and honored to have participated in this relay with other champions to promote our territory, our beautiful department, our lovely region that is ideal for sports… We have an extraordinary playground here between the sea, the mountains, the elevation, the sun, and the often-favorable weather for outdoor sports. I am truly delighted to have taken the relay, especially from a boat that has sailed around the world.”
The three trail runners then met the 1989 European triathlon champion Yves Cordier after 1 hour and 30 minutes. Cordier took 50 minutes to arrive at the Peille descent, where mountain bikers Loic Bruni, Hugo Marini, Thibault Daprela, Loris Vergier, Jean-Pierre Bruni, and Nicolas Vouilloz were waiting. The team descended Peille for 30 minutes before meeting another cyclist, Cédrick Dubois. The fastest cyclist on the Côte d’Azur took 3 hours to reach the Turini-Camp d’argent winter sports station, where Gilles Spagnol and Sébastien Camus received the baton for the second time that day. Together, they ran 20 kilometers in 4 hours to finish at Belvédère, the last stage of this first day of the Outdoor 06 Festival.
The complete program of the Outdoor 06 Festival and its Odyssey:
https://outdoorfestival.departement06.fr/le-festival-28657.html