Ethiopian pair of Dejene Kelkilew and Tejitu Siyum claimed the title at the 10th edition of the Marathon des Alpes Maritimes, anIAAF Bronze Label Road Race, in southern France on Sunday (6).

With the exception of the initial kilometres on the “Promenade des Anglais” in Nice, runners had to cope with a strong headwind --and some light rain-- en route to the finish line in the coastal city of Cannes.

In the men’s race, a group of seven --Kelkilew, Japan’s Yuki Kawauchi, Kenyans Alfred Kering, Alex Bartilol and Daniel Yator and Azmeraw Mengistu of Ethiopia-- hit the first 10-kilometre checkpoint in 30:48, suggesting a possible finish time of exactly 2:10:00.

Spearheaded by Ethiopia’s Cosmas Birech –who replaced Cornelius Kangago as main pace setter-- the leading group slowed slightly, reaching the halfway point in 1:05:20. There were still six men in contention for the victory as Mengistu started to struggle with the pace.

While the second part of the race is tougher than the first, Kelkilew, Kering and Bartilol were still together at 30 kilometres, along with Birech who was still setting the pace.

With four kilometres to go, Kelkilew made his first move and Bartilol dropped back.

The trio hit 40 kilometres in 2:05:12, seven seconds ahead of Bartilol. A few metres later Kelkilew made his second effort and built a small gap over Birech and Kering. He then managed to hold his lead to break the tape in 2:12:09, ten seconds ahead of Birech, who achieved a strong performance as he set the pace almost from the start.

Kelkilew notched his second career win over the distance following a success in Reims in 2015 in a PB of 2:11:21.

Kering, who was the fastest man of the field courtesy of a best mark of 2:07:10, rounded out the podium in 2:12:30, 21 seconds adrift of the winner while his compatriot Bartilol finished fourth in 2:12:46.

Kawauchi faded 24 kilometres into the race and covered the final 17 kilometres alone, crossing the line in 2:15:02 in what was his ninth marathon in 2017.

“I didn’t feel fresh,” said Kawauch, who was ninth at the IAAF World Championships in London, commenting on his debut on the French roads.

The Marathon of the Alpes-Maritimes is a marathon taking place on a part of the coast of Alpes-Maritimes , between Nice (the Promenade des Anglais ) and Cannes (the Promenade of the Croisette ). It is one of the most important French marathons in terms of number of participants, with 6,653 participants having finished the race in 2016.

It is part of the international circuit of the IAAF Road Race Label Events , in the category of "Bronze Labels". It is organized by Azur Sport Organization (ASO). The mayors of the cities of Nice ( Christian Estrosi ) and Cannes ( David Lisnard ) run each year the entirety of 42,195 km . 95% of the course takes place by the sea. Participants pass Le Negresco de Nice and arrive in front of the Carlton Cannes, two palaces emblematic of the Riviera.

This course of 42.195 km along the seaside from Nice to Cannes invites you to discover the most beautiful tourist places of the Riviera: Saint-Laurent-du-Var, Cagnes-sur-Mer, Villeneuve-Loubet, Antibes Juan-les-Pins And Vallauris Golfe-Juan.