23 – 24.05.2026 | Montgeron, France. There is something quietly audacious about hosting a Streetlifting competition the weekend after the French Nationals. The crowd has barely caught its breath, the athletes are still processing their results, and yet the ACE Squad looked at that window in the calendar and decided it was the perfect moment. Two events running simultaneously in the same gymnasium, a heat wave overhead, a raffle running on the side, and fifty athletes ready to go again. What followed was one of the most vibrant editions of the ACE CUP to date, held at the Gymnasium Alain Picot in Montgeron and co-organized with Atlas Corporation for their CBL Finals, bringing together two sides of the French street workout community under one roof.
Twelve national records fell over two days. France is not slowing down.
Event Overview
The ACE CUP Open ran across two full days, with weigh-in starting at 6:00 AM on Saturday, the first flight at 8:00 AM, and the daily podiums at 7:30 PM. Sunday followed a slightly later rhythm, with the final lifts completed around 1:00 PM and the closing ceremony, including the RIS podium, taking place around 3:00 PM.
Fifty athletes competed across eleven weight categories, with participants traveling from Belgium and Portugal in addition to the French national pool. The co-organization with Atlas Corporation’s CBL Finals gave the event an unusual but energizing dynamic: two competitions running side by side, drawing a combined audience of 80 to 100 visitors per day, many of whom moved freely between both platforms throughout the weekend.
A team of four ACE Squad governors handled the Streetlifting-specific planning, coordinating with the Atlas Corporation governance for shared logistics and with the City of Montgeron, whose sports department provided substantial equipment support. All judges on staff held official FinalRep licenses, a deliberate upgrade from previous editions.
Highlights and Athletes Performance
The -66kg category produced the most dramatic flight of the weekend. Six athletes separated by just five kilograms across the entire field meant the standings remained genuinely uncertain until the final squat attempts, with only three kilograms ultimately separating first from second. Alexis Serre claimed the win and set a new French record in the muscle-up at 40.5kg, one of eight individual records broken on the men’s side across the two days.
Yohann Capdeville was one of the most watched athletes of the weekend, returning after missing his Worlds qualification last year. He won the -73kg class comfortably with a 485kg total.
The female -63kg class delivered a performance that outpaced the French Nationals held the previous weekend: Maëlle Vioulac won the category and set three new national records, posting a 72.5kg dip and a 261.25kg total, while Elina Illouz claimed the muscle-up record in the same class at 20.25kg.
The +70kg women’s division saw Dorène Iliev and Eliza Puech rewrite the French record books between them: Iliev broke the squat record with 162.5kg and the total record at 257.5kg, while Puech set new marks in the muscle-up (13.5kg), pull-up (33.5kg), and dip (70kg).
On the heavier end of the men’s field, Warren Solbes hit a 245kg squat in the -73kg class, Grégory Coste matched that with a 245.5kg squat in -80kg, and Maxime Humily closed out the weekend with a 270kg squat in the +101kg division.
Organizational Insights
Hosting a competition in a public gymnasium during an unexpected heat wave, with no air conditioning and two events running simultaneously, is not a simple challenge. The ACE Squad handled it by keeping all doors open throughout the weekend, managing athlete comfort as best as the conditions allowed, and absorbing some complaints from competitors without letting the heat affect the competition flow itself.
One serious incident occurred during the dips: an athlete sustained a likely pectoral injury after falling from the station and required emergency medical assistance. The situation was handled promptly and the athlete was cared for appropriately, with competition resuming without significant disruption.
Beyond those challenges, the event ran well. The staff rotation system worked effectively, the three-flight structure served athletes well, and the introduction of engagement elements, including a raffle and betting format, added an extra layer of atmosphere that the team plans to develop further.
The one area for genuine improvement is the pull-up bar grip on the competition station, which several athletes noted was less consistent than the warm-up bar. A second photographer and expanded media equipment are also on the wishlist for the next edition.
Community Response & Future Outlook
Social media response was strong, with almost every athlete sharing content from the weekend and the raffle generating additional visibility across Instagram. The energy inside the gymnasium, amplified by the dual-event format and the consistent crowd movement between both platforms, gave the ACE CUP a festival-like atmosphere that separated it from a standard competition weekend.
The ACE Squad is already working on the next chapter: the ACE Cup Series, a regional circuit running between October and February across four cities, all branded under FinalRep. The ambition for the series final is to secure QUALIFIER status for the Worlds, bringing the ACE CUP into the global calendar in a formal capacity.
Conclusion
The ACE CUP Open 2026 was everything a back-to-back qualifier weekend should be: demanding, competitive, and full of moments that matter. Twelve national records, fierce category battles, and a community that showed up despite the heat and the packed calendar.
France is not taking breaks. And the ACE Squad is just getting started.
We’re proud to be part of this journey. Until next time — Let’s keep pushing the limits together!
- Event Host: @_ace__squad_
- Main Athletes Involved: @alexis__serre, @prz_yohann, @vlcma, @elina.ilz, @do.ilv, @_duendao_eliza_, @warrenslbs, @maxime_hmly, @tesco.sl
- Main Sponsors Involved: @altius.gear, @tatakaifr, @strenghtshop, @mpds_streetlifiting, @tescoaching, @grind__performance, @menn_perfomance
— Your FinalRep Team 
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