In the 82-kilometer race from Calpe to Benissa, victory went to Belgian Wout Alleman and Swiss Anna Weinbeer, who took home their first points on the UCI World Cup circuit.
Source: press release
The 2026 HERO UCI World Tour officially kicked off today with the HERO Costa Blanca presented by Millennium Luxury Properties. Cross-country Marathon World Cup, the UCI long-distance mountain bike World Cup circuit.
173 bikers from the Elite and Master Licence categories from 24 nations lined up at the start of the race over the distance of 82 km with 2.700 metres of altitude difference and who are registered for the 2026 HERO UCI Cross-country Marathon World. Naturally, as with all the circuit events, numerous amateur runners were also able to participate in the race in Calpe, starting under the Spanish sun.
The men's Elite race was initially led by German Lukas Baum, who, on a rocky section, compromised the proper functioning of his rear derailleur, a mechanical issue that forced him to adopt a defensive strategy. This incident allowed his compatriot (and 2025 Marathon World Cup holder) Andreas Seewald of the Singer KTM Racing team to take the lead after a strong comeback that saw him in fifth place after about twenty kilometers.
A similar rise also for the Spaniard David Valero who, after closing a fruitful XCO career with the epic Olympic bronze in Tokyo, officially entered the marathon community thanks to the Klimatiza Orbea Team: for the Iberian, a slow but steady climb from eighth to third place.
But the real dominator of the day was Belgian Wout Alleman who, sailing in the podium zone for most of the race, took advantage of a puncture by Andreas Seewald, overtaking him as he was approaching the finish line in Calpe, crossing the finish line with a time of 3:41:44, well below the expectations of the organizers themselves.
"I'm extremely happy! It's the first World Cup race of the season, and it was really important to win here," Wout Alleman said afterward. "I arrived in Spain several weeks ago, deliberately early to train as best I could, so I knew the routes in the Calpe area very well. I'm happy with my fitness; it's a very important victory that confirms the good work I've done in preparation." If a good start is anything to go by, the Belgian is looking forward to a great season, with the goal of improving on his second-place finish in the 2025 HERO UCI Marathon World Cup standings.
Second place went to Andreas Seewald of the Singer KTM Racing team, who clocked 3:42:49, just one minute behind the winner. He congratulated the winner upon crossing the finish line. Third place went to Spaniard David Valero of the Klimatiza Orbea Team, 1:46 behind, who was the star of the show.
In the women's Elite race, the first few kilometers saw a breakaway by Swiss rider Anna Weinbeer, a new addition to the KTM SPADA Powered by Brenta Brakes team. She confirmed her performance last July in Germany at the Black Forest ULTRA Bike Marathon, when, competing in the amateur category, she set the fastest overall time among all women in the race. Then, as now, the Swiss athlete rode alone to the finish, while behind her, the real battle for second place was raging between Dutchwoman Rosa van Doorn (winner of the 2025 World Cup) and Spain's Natalia Fischer of the Extremadura Ecopilas team, joined by Poland's Paula Gorycka Kurmann. In this three-way battle, Fischer emerged victorious.
And so here comes the surprise (but perhaps not so much) undisputed success of Swiss Anna Weinbeer, representing the KTM SPADA Powered by Brenta Brakes, who completed the challenging Calpe-Benissa course with a time of 4:27:05.
"I'm incredibly happy, it's a period in which I feel very happy and in great shape," said winner Anna Weinbeer. "This year everything is new to me: the team, the bike, the working group, the races, and the sponsors. In short, I'm in a new dimension and I'm very happy with this first phase. However, in the second half of the race the heat was quite a challenge, but I'm happy to have prevailed."
The women's podium was completed by Natalia Fischer, 3:37 behind the winner, and third place went to Dutchwoman Rosa van Doorn with a time of 04:31:31.
There was also a spectacular show in the Masters Licence, where the record was won by Spaniard Xavier Calaf Garcia in the men's event and by Britain's Sophie Johnson among the women registered.
And before the curtain falls on the debut of the 2026 HERO UCI Cross-country Marathon World the word to the organization: «We are very happy and satisfied with how today ended, we started with a new race on the calendar with everything to organize and define, but we are grateful to the authorities and local partners for the valuable support given on this front, – commented Gerhard Vanzi, chairman of 2026 HERO UCI Cross-country Marathon World Cup – even though there are a few months to go, we are already thinking about the next race, the Capoliveri Legend Cup, which was a source of great satisfaction last year."
The winners of the first stage of the 2026 HERO UCI Cross-country Marathon World Cup athletes reached the podium wearing the world championship leader's jersey, the same one they will wear again in less than three months on the Island of Elba for the second stage, the Capoliveri Legend Cup scheduled for May 9, 2026.
MEN ELITE RANKING
- ALLEMAN Wout BEL 03:41:44
- SEEWALD Andreas GER SINGER KTM RACING 03:42:49 +00:01:05
- VALERO David ESP KLIMATIZA ORBEA TEAM 03:43:30 +00:01:46
- LUKASIK Krzysztof POL 03:45:47 +00:04:03
- BAUM Lukas GER 03:45:5 +00:04:13
- EVENSEN-LIE Eskil NOR METALLURGICA VENETA 03:46:30 +00:04:46
- SAMPARISI Nicolas ITA KTM SPADA 03:47:53 +00:06:09
- EGGER Georg GER 03:47:54 +00:06:10
- STOSEK Martin CZE 03:48:02 +00:06:18
- GORIA Stefano ITA 03:48:04 +00:06:20
WOMEN ELITE RANKING
- WEINBEER Anna SUI KTM SPADA 04:27:05
- FISCHER Natalia ESP EXTREMADURA ECOPILAS 04:30:42 +00:03:37
- VAN DOORN Pink NED 04:31:31 +00:04:26
- GORYCKA KURMANN P POL 04:43:03 +00:15:58
- OTTO Rae Hannah USA 04:45:03 +00:17:58
- NJEMCEVIC Lejla BIH 04:46:18 +00:19:13
- MAIRHOFER Sandra ITA LEECOUGAN BASSO FACTORY 04:48:38 +00:21:33
- SOMMER Clara AUT 04:50:58 +00:23:53
- PERETTI Claudia ITA 04:54:36 +00:27:31
- BAUMANN Chrystelle SUI 04:57:03 +00:29:58
The complete results are available at the site: www.heroucimarathonworldcup.com
