The Cross des Pachottes is a winter cross-country race held in Parc des Pachottes, Simandres, a commune near Lyon. The park is a venue for departmental cross championships and has also marked the start of the local cross-country championship season. Races begin in the morning, with one listing indicating a 9:30 start. The format is straightforward: runners compete off-road on a challenging park course, prioritizing the terrain over road-race speeds.
The program offers multiple distances, ranging from short 2 km, 3.2 km, 4 km, and 5 km races to longer options like 5.5 km, 8 km, 9.4 km, and 19.8 km. The event attracts club athletes from the Lyon area, including Dardilly, Tassin, Meyzieu, and Lyon. Athletic Club du Lyonnais consistently sends large contingents, with approximately 117 to 118 runners in recent editions. One count showed equal female participation, and the club ranks as the second most represented team, following ESL.