The tenth event of the 12-event 2010 World Cup takes place on Sunday in the steep limestone forests near Annecy in the foothills of the French Alps. This event provides competitors with a foretaste of the 2011 World Championships which will be held in similar terrain in the same region of France.

Starting at midday local time on Sunday, this is a long distance race with individual 2-minute interval start, with the 40 runners with the highest World Cup standings starting last in reverse order (i.e. the leader starts last).

The terrain is typical forested low-alpine karst limestone with an abundance of steep hills and crags, and very detailed contours on a 1:15,000 / 5m map. Visibility and runnability is very mixed. Both technical and physical skills will be fully tested, that is clear.

Many of those competing will be staying in the area to get more experience in this type of terrain before travelling the short distance on to Geneva for the World Cup Final weekend on 9th/10th October.