Mixed Feelings for the CCC — Edoardo Rossano
WORDS → Francesca Robasto
Pics → @iampatrickpilz @lorsbach_
DATE → 2026-09-03
From collaboration with the Arc’teryx design team to the first experience at 100 kilometers.
In Chamonix, during UTMB week, it’s hard to stay truly outside the race. Even when you haven’t put on your bib yet, you feel it in the streets, on the trails, in the shops, in conversations, and especially in the faces of those who’ve come here from every corner of the world. For Edoardo Rossano, Arc’teryx athlete, this year that feeling has something different about it: the time has come to run the CCC for the first time, 100 kilometers around Mont Blanc. “The vibes are really strong,” he tells us a few days before the start, almost searching for words to describe an atmosphere he already knew, but had only experienced as a spectator until that moment. Chamonix isn’t new to him: in previous years he’d already passed through these mountains to support friends and teammates. The difference, this time, is having his own bib.
“It’s great because it feels like one big celebration. It’s full of people, runners from everywhere, and they make you understand it’s a somewhat special week.” At the same time, he admits, for those used to visiting the valley during the rest of the year, finding a calmer Chamonix can be just as pleasant. But during UTMB week the noise is part of the game. And ultimately it’s precisely this collective energy that makes the setting so unique.
Already knowing the place, though, helps. Not so much to eliminate the anxiety—that remains—but to know where to look for a bit of calm. Avoiding the most crowded spots, carving out moments of quiet, staying with the team. “Having the chance to be here with teammates is another thing on top of that,” he says. “We support each other, we can say that extra word to give each other good positive vibes.” Then there are the small rituals. The ones that from the outside might seem insignificant but that, when a race becomes important, end up taking on a weight all their own. The evening before, Edoardo carefully prepares his kit, shoes, and everything he’ll need. Then he puts on music. There’s no fixed playlist: it changes depending on the moment. But among the artists he listens to most willingly before a race are ArtJ.
And above all there are the shoes. “Lacing up your shoes is a bit of a technical thing, but also probably superstitious.” A gesture he repeats several times during the morning, almost seeking through a concrete detail that sense of control which, over a distance of 100 kilometers, is necessarily partial. For the CCC, he chooses a prototype version of the Arc’teryx Sylan 2, equipped with some modifications planned for the next evolution of the model, which he’s currently using in training. And it’s precisely the relationship with prototypes that’s one of the most interesting aspects of his journey within the team.
Being an athlete, in this case, doesn’t only mean running with a finished product. It means entering the process that precedes it. “It’s really great to be part of the entire process that leads to creating a new shoe model,” Edoardo explained. And it’s not just about footwear: apparel and accessories also go through continuous dialogue with the athletes. The process is made up of testing, different terrain, different conditions, and above all feedback. A prototype arrives, gets used, analyzed, and described to those handling the design. Then it comes back changed. Not necessarily perfect on the first attempt.
“I think it’s also part of the process to sometimes receive prototypes that we don’t feel great about at first approach.” And it’s perhaps right there that the athlete’s role becomes most interesting. If everything arrived already perfect, there would be little to add. Testing something that doesn’t fully convince means instead being able to understand what’s missing, what works, and what can be improved. It’s very concrete work, but also very subjective. Every athlete has their own feel with a shoe, with a material, with a construction. That’s why the dialogue doesn’t stop at the relationship between individual athlete and designer. During the year the team comes together at training camps, academies, and other dedicated moments, but communication continues remotely as well.
“We also have shared WhatsApp groups where we stay in touch”—talking about shoes, shirts, shorts, accessories. Sharing sensations and impressions. It’s a continuous exchange that brings together different experiences and allows the product to evolve through a very concrete perspective: that of those who will actually use it running in the mountains. But on the eve of the CCC there’s something that goes beyond materials and preparation. For Edoardo, that race represents entry into a new distance. The 100 kilometers are still territory to explore. “Since I started approaching long distances, the CCC has always been a dream race to try.” He waited, though, precisely to arrive at it with greater awareness. Because knowing the course doesn’t necessarily mean knowing yourself at that distance. And this, perhaps, is the aspect that intrigues him most: understanding how the body can react, but also what you can discover about yourself over such a long race.
The sensations in a setting like this are multiple, a bit of mixed feelings, as Edoardo told us; on one hand the desire to start, to run, to finally set in motion everything that’s been prepared in the preceding months. On the other the inevitable question: are we really ready?