Among the women, Italian Claudia Peretti dominated from the first meter to the finish, ahead of Dutchwoman Rosa van Doorn and Polish athlete Paula Gorycka Kurmann. Bikers representing 54 nations were at the start.
After four stages, the leadership of the 2026 HERO UCI Cross-country The Marathon World Cup once again belongs to Swiss Anna Weinbeer among the women (today just off the podium) and David Valero Serrano among the men.
Source: press release
Selva Val Gardena, 13 June 2026 – The most important international names in long-distance mountain biking will be at the start of the 2026 HERO Südtirol Dolomites this morning, attracted not only by the value the race has achieved over its sixteen editions, but also by the points up for grabs that count towards the overall ranking of the HERO UCI Marathon World Cup.
In fact, the most spectacular and toughest mountain bike marathon in the world (in terms of distance and altitude) hosted the fourth stage of the UCI World Cup, which saw 180 athletes in the Elite and Master categories take part.
The first to cross the finish line in Selva Val Gardena, which also hosted the start and the entire HERO Bike Festival headquarters, were the Elite athletes who competed on the 60km course with 3.200 meters of elevation gain. Victory went to Italian Claudia Peretti, who took the lead on the first climb to the Gardena Pass and never relinquished it to her opponents. The Italian Marathon Champion finished with a time of 3:53:48.
"This morning my legs were feeling great, really great, so I tried to pace the race at the right pace for my condition that day, and I was right," commented 28-year-old Claudia Peretti. "Yes, it's true, starting so fast can be risky, but when you feel good, it's right to try. In other words, I felt like today was my day, and there was no other." The winner's embrace with her team manager and coach Marzio Deho was emotional: a result that seals a top-notch season, in which the Omegna native can also show off the national title she won last May.
Behind Claudia Peretti was Dutchwoman Rosa van Doorn, who took second place with a time of 2:32, after a strong comeback in the second half, moving from eighth place after 30 km to second place at the finish line. This marked a significant return to competitive action for the Dutch athlete, the 2025 World Cup champion, after being sidelined by a knee injury at the start of the season. Polish athlete Paula Gorycka Kurmann rounded out the podium in 3:57:41, thus putting an end to the nightmare of a fourth consecutive World Cup finish: "I knew Anna Weinbeer was coming back, but I was too determined: I couldn't bear another cardboard medal." And in fact, the current leader of the general classification and true dominator of the season, Swiss Anna Weinbeer of the KTM Spada Brenta Brakes team, finished fourth, just 3 seconds off the podium: the Swiss congratulated her opponents, acknowledging their value in today's race, but her appointment with the HERO Dolomites has only been postponed.
THE CLASH OF THE HEROES
The men's race saw a constant reversal of the race lead, with the battle at the top seeing Spaniard David Valero Serrano, representing the Klimatiza Orbea Team, take the HERO on the long 86km course with 4.500 meters of elevation gain, finishing in 4:30:11. This victory was built in the second half of the race, with Dutch national marathon champion Tim Smeenge's initial attack taking him over the Dantercepies with an 18-second lead over former road pro Diego Rosa, who returned to his first love, mountain biking, and the other podium contenders. Among these are Colombian Leo Paez and his credentials of 8 HERO victories, Spain's David Valero Serrano who wears the overall leader's jersey of the 2026 HERO UCI Marathon World Cup, Belgium's Wout Alleman who is in great form, and a young Dario Cherchi who, having left the Under23 category, is making his mark in the Elite family of the discipline.
After passing Arabba, other contenders, including Andreas Seewald, Lorenzo Samparisi, and Alleman himself, had to surrender to the impressive pace of the leading group. At the Pordoi pass, the battle was narrowed to five riders: the Klimatiza Orbea team captain attempted to pull away, followed by Paez and Cherchi, both from the Leecougan Basso Factory Team (in a hypothetical team effort), and on their tails, Rosa and the tulip-shaped Smeenge, who were catching their breath after a fast-paced start. But at the Lupo Bianco pass, Ligurian Cherchi had to slow, while a little further ahead, Leo Paez stopped with a technical problem with his handlebars, and Rosa took advantage of the situation to pass him. At that point, a resurgent Smeenge also returned to the leading trio to fight it out at the finish, but the Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medalist, Valero Serrano, known in the environment for his increases in pace in the final stages of races, dropped his opponents to fly all alone to the finish line in Selva di Val Gardena.
"For my first HERO participation, I had to start cautiously, knowing how tough this race would be, and that's exactly what happened. I let the others dictate the pace, and in the finale, I thought I should attack on the climb: after the Duron, it was the Zallinger climb that allowed me to make the difference and manage my lead until the finish. What can I say? I've been listening to the HERO buzz for years, and to win it on my first attempt is something extraordinary," enthused the Spaniard, winner of the HERO 2026. One technical detail in this race is striking: while Cherchi and Paez raced with a 32- and 34-tooth front chainring, Valero chose to use a 36-tooth, demonstrating the power the Spaniard is capable of delivering.
A victory that takes on great significance if we consider who finished behind him, top-level rivals such as Diego Rosa who finished the race 41,4 seconds behind the winner, and completing the podium was Dutchman Tim Smeenge with a final time of 4:31:00, a pair of bikers who set a grueling pace right from the first kilometres of the race.
In the Masters category, Italian Gianmarco Maiolani and British Sophie Johnson dominated.
With today's victory, David Valero of the Klimatiza Orbea Team and Anna Weinbeer of the KTM Spada Brenta Brakes team wear the red jersey of overall leader, with which they will depart for the fifth stage of the circuit in Kirchzarten, Germany for the Black Forest ULTRA Bike Marathon on July 26, 2026.
INTERNATIONALITY
The international character of the HERO Südtirol Dolomites is evident not only in the start list, which features athletes from 54 nations across five continents, but also in the presence of different nationalities at the top of the results: eight nations are among the top ten among the women, and seven among the men. And naturally, visibility will also extend well beyond national borders, with television coverage of the HERO Südtirol Dolomites broadcast across five continents.
The complete results are available on the site: www.datasport.com e https://www.heroucimarathonworldcup.com/
MEN'S RANKING
VALERO SERRANO DAVID SPA KLIMATIZA ORBEA 4:30:11
ROSA DIEGO ITA 4:30:52 +41,4
SMEENGE TIM NED 4:31:00 +49,0
PAEZ LEON LEONARDO COL LEECOUGAN BASSO 4:31:19 +1:08,2
CHERCHI DARIO ITA LEECOUGAN BASSO 4:33:40 +3:29,8
ALLEMAN WOUT BEL 4:34:53 +4:42,4
SEEWALD ANDREAS GER SINGER KTM RACING 4:36:09 +5:58,4
LEEK SAMUELE ITA KLIMATIZA ORBEA 4:37:17 +7:05,9
SAMPARISI LORENZO ITA KTM SPADA 4:37:48 +7:37,0
GESCHE ANTONA CHI KLIMATIZA ORBEA 4:38:19 +8:08,8 SEBASTIAN ANDRES
FEMALE RANKING
PERETTI CLAUDIA ITA 3:53:48
VAN DOORN ROSA NED 3:56:21 +2:32
GORYCKA – KURMANN PAULA POL 3:57:41 +3:52
WEINBEER ANNA ON THE KTM SPADA 3:57:44 +3:55
PIANA DEBORA ITA 4:00:41 +6:52
FUMAGALLI MARA ITA KTM SPADA 4:02:01 +8:12
BOHLIN AMANDA SWE 4:03:04 +9:15
NJEMCEVIC LEJLA BIH 4:03:18 +9:29
BOLTON CHELSEA USA 4:05:15 +11:26
FISCHER NATALIA SPA EXTREMADURA ECOPILAS 4:06:07 +12:18
