Le Cadran de Francheville 2027

This small village of around 250 Francheville residents 🏘️, nestled on the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté plateau, about twenty km north of Dijon, is hosting the first edition of the Cadran de Francheville, right in the heart of the Côte-d'Or 🍇. Here you climb to an average altitude of 480 m, so plan for a chilly early morning 🥶, with cool starts to the day that warm up quickly once the sun rises ☀️. The Burgundy plateau keeps its whims right through the end of spring: it’s best to pack plenty of layers so you don’t get caught out between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. ⏳.

From the City Stade in Francheville 🏟️, the start and finish point for each loop, the route sets off over 6.706 km across the wooded plateau of the Pays de Saint-Seine-l'Abbaye, between rural tracks and undergrowth typical of this rolling Côte-d'Or 🌳. The profile, with its 110 m D+ per lap 📈, isn’t a brutal leg-breaker, but rather wears you down through repetition: the same climb, again and again, until your body gives out 😅. Allow a maximum of 59 minutes, stopwatch in hand, to complete each lap and head straight back out—and if you can’t do it in time, the race ends there for you 🚫… This trail format—a perpetual time trial—turns a modest course into a full-fledged ultra: by the twelfth loop, nearly 80.4 km and 1,320 m D+ show on the counter 🏔️.

The Cadran de Francheville owes its DNA to the backyard ultra format, popularized across the Atlantic by the "Big's Backyard Ultra," with its last survivors running until dawn 🇺🇸. The Foyer Rural de Francheville chose to cap the challenge at 12 starts, a way to open up this cult format to a broader audience than ultra specialists alone 🙂. On the start line, a maximum of 200 bibs and a close-knit vibe 🎫, closer to a meet-up among enthusiasts than a big urban blowout 📢: no kids’ race or flashy entertainment here—just runners coming to test their minds as much as their legs 🦵. A format that attracts both the curious trail runner and the marathoner in search of records ⏱️.

Once your legs are up 🛋️, the Côte-d'Or has no shortage of reasons to rebuild your stores 🍽️. Dijon mustard and the wines of Burgundy can be enjoyed just a stone’s throw from the City Stade, as can the ever-iconic snails 🐌, unbeatable on local tables 🍷. Just outside Francheville, the Source of the Seine bubbles up timidly in the middle of the forest 🌲: a nice nod to runners who, that day, will have only one thing in mind—moving forward without ever stopping 🚀. The curious can also head as far as the abbey church of Saint-Seine-l'Abbaye, just a few minutes’ drive away 🚗, for a bit of history before or after the effort.

In Francheville, don’t look at your watch: it’s looking at you. See you in early April, loop after loop, until the dial says stop ⏰.