Federico Borella went one better than his 2025 vice champion position to claim outright victory at La Lazaridès 2026, completing the 164 km route in 04:03:40 on Saturday 2 May and leading Team OM.CC to a 1–3 podium finish on the Côte d’Azur.
Twelve months ago, the Italian Borella lost to Hammouchen Kassa by just 21 seconds. This time, there was no denying him.
Between Borella and OM.CC teammate Nicholas Calipa in third came an intriguing second-place finish from American Drake Deuel, 58 seconds off the pace.
A former Harvard rower and elite road cyclist now based in Nice after leaving a US tech career in 2025, Deuel first drew attention by finishing second overall at the Mt. Washington Hillclimb in his debut season — and is building a growing following as a full-time content creator documenting his European racing life.
Calipa finished 7 minutes 32 seconds back after riding as a loyal domestique for Borella most of the day.
Coming off a second-place finish last weekend at the Colnago Gran Fondo Provence Occitane, France’s Laurence Reviglio moved to the top of the women’s podium, winning in 04:43:55. Céline Le Pecheur was second, 54 minutes 36 seconds later.
Organised by the Étoile Sportive de Cannes and now in its 34th year, La Lazaridès honours the memory of Apo Lazaridès — a French rider of Greek origin who served as a domestique to René Vietto and became world championship runner-up in 1948.
The long route crosses the Estérel massif, passes Lac de Saint-Cassien, and traverses the Caussols plateau, accumulating 2,500 metres of elevation gain.
La Lazaridès Cyclo results HERE
Photo Credit: @fabio_dfr ar
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