Adventure Racing World Championship 2026: 400 adventure racers set off in Corte for the world title

This morning in Corte, Corsica, 98 mixed teams of four set out in the 2026 Adventure Racing World Championship, taking on a wild, authentic course of nearly 500 km and 20,000 m of elevation gain. Without GPS, competitors must reach L’Île-Rousse by linking trail running, packrafting, rope sections, mountain biking, canyoning and sea kayaking. Here’s a look at the field and an extraordinary race.

At 6 a.m. on Thursday, October 1, the 98 teams entered in the 2026 Adventure Racing World Championship set off from Cours Pascal Paoli in Corte. In the first light of day, they left Corte and headed into the unknown, following the first sections of a course prepared in complete secrecy. The maps were handed out only the day before the start.

A prologue shared with local children, plus technical checks

The day before, the 98 teams took part in a prologue inside the Citadel of Corte. Designed as an introduction to Corsica’s history, language, culture and environment, this first sporting challenge delivered a unique spectacle in the heart of the city.

On a timed two-kilometre course, the teams raced up into the heights above the city. Created with the Cité scolaire, the orienteering race brought together sport, music, nature and heritage. But its real point of difference was this: each mixed team of four athletes started alongside two children, who ran with them all the way to the top of the Citadel. It was a shared adventure for champions and young people from Corte, built around passing on knowledge, sharing and camaraderie.

The prologue officially opened the 2026 Adventure Racing World Championship (ARWC), following Tuesday’s day of equipment checks and technical skills assessments for every racer taking part in this year’s edition.

On Place Tuffelli, the organising team led by Pascal Bahuaud tested the competitors’ ability to move through whitewater and the sea and to handle rope techniques, while also checking their safety equipment and self-sufficiency gear. Before they could take the main start, every team had to show that it was ready for the demands of the Corsican terrain.

Ultra-distance specialists line up for a 500 km, 20,000 m ascent race

World champions, international ranking leaders, ultra-endurance specialists and Corsican teams all share the same goal: reaching L’Île-Rousse after an expedition covering more than 500 kilometres and 20,000 metres of elevation gain. For five to eight days and nights, the mixed teams of four will keep moving without interruption or outside assistance. Trekking, mountain biking, packrafting, sea kayaking, canyoning and rope sections will follow one another on a course kept secret until the day before the start.

Unlike a traditional race, the ARWC is not about speed but ultra-endurance. Teams must navigate without GPS while managing their food, equipment, fatigue and rest periods. A navigation error, a mechanical failure, a change in the weather or one team member’s breakdown can turn the standings upside down. Throughout the race, every team must stay together: the finish line can only be crossed by all four athletes. It is a rule that puts cohesion and teamwork at the heart of performance.

Among the favourites is 400Team Altore, the reigning world champion team, led by experienced ultra-trail runners Sébastien Raichon and Sandrine Béranger. The French team leads the 2026 Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS), the discipline’s equivalent of a World Cup, contested over several international races during the season and providing qualification for the World Championship.

Estonian team Estonian Ace / La Sportiva, close behind them in the 2026 standings, will also be on the start line in Corsica, alongside Brazil’s Kailas Fuga, third in the 2026 ARWS. French hopes will also rest with Team FMR, the four-person Expenature.fr Outdoor07 squad led by experienced racer Romuald Viale, Courchevel Sport Outdoor, featuring trail runners Magali Mellon and Fleury Roux, and Lozère Sport Nature.

They will face teams from the United States, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand and Spain, all battling for the ultimate title left vacant by reigning champions Swedish Armed Forces Adventure Team.

Full list of teams

The first teams are expected to reach L’Île-Rousse beach from October 6. Finishers will continue arriving through October 9, giving each team one final emotional moment by the sea.

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