The 2025 HERO UCI has started with today's race Cross-country Marathon World hosted by the impeccable organization of the Capoliveri Legend Cup. On the 65 kilometers of the race on Elba Island, success went to the Belgian Wout Alleman and the Dutch Rosa Van Doorn who took home the first points of the UCI World Cup circuit.
Source: press release
The 2025 HERO UCI has officially kicked off with today's Capoliveri Legend Cup Cross-country Marathon World, the UCI World Cup circuit for long-distance mountain biking.
Of the 2247 bikers in total lining up at the start of the race over the distance of 65 kilometres and 2.400 metres of altitude difference, 208 are registered (representing 24 nations) for the 2025 HERO UCI Cross-country Marathon World of which 189 in the Elite category and 19 Master Licence amateurs. Among the Elite athletes, the Belgian Wout Alleman of Team Buff-Megamo was the first to cross the finish line with a time of 02:59:42. "Today I ran an exceptional race because I was in particularly good shape. I knew these courses for having competed here on the Island of Elba, in 2021 for the Marathon World Championship - commented the winner - we started strong with the Norwegian Eskil Evensen and Gioele De Cosmo joined us, who I know well for having been teammates in the past. I am really happy that at the next race I will be able to wear the leader's jersey of the UCI World Cup".
In second place was the Italian Gioele De Cosmo of the Torpado Kenda FSA team who stopped the clock at 03:00:01 and the third step of the podium went to his teammate Fabian Rabensteiner who was 00:39 behind.
In the women's race, the victory went to Dutchwoman Rosa Van Doorn, representing Team Buff-Megamo, who completed the challenging course on Elba Island with a time of 03:37:15.
«Yesterday I said in the press conference my motto “Go with the flow” and so it was: after the start we remained a group of five girls and at the 20th kilometer I broke away while the others went on the run, but I kept my concentration and I started to recover and overtake everyone until I was alone: I pedaled the last kilometers as if it were a time trial – the words of the winner, Rosa Van Doorn – it was a race that I would define as “Amazing” for the route, for the beauty of the island and also for our team, with Wout's victory. Now I really deserve an ice cream!».
The women's podium was completed by Bosnian Lejla Njemcevic (in her first race of the season after a stop last autumn due to health problems) who was 05:36 behind the winner and third place went to German Adelheid Morath with a time of 03:43:33.
One of the novelties of the 2025 HERO UCI Cross-country Marathon World also allows amateurs who are regularly registered with a National Federation affiliated to the UCI (for this reason defined as Master Licence) to compete for the World Cup and in this special ranking the primacy was conquered by the Italian Andrea Bravin in the men's race and by the Polish Kamila Gurzynska among the registered women.
And before the curtain falls on the debut of the 2025 HERO UCI Cross-country Marathon World the word to the organization: «We knew the organizational level of the Capoliveri Legend Cup for having hosted an international UCI marathon in 2023 and, at the end of today's test we can only declare ourselves extremely satisfied with this first stage - commented Gerhard Vanzi, chairman of 2025 HERO UCI Cross-country Marathon World – and at this point, our attention is already turned to the second event in Andorra where another exciting competition awaits us."
The winners of the first stage of the 2025 HERO UCI Cross-country Marathon World climbed onto the podium wearing the leader's jersey of the world circuit, the same one they will wear again in three weeks in the Pyrenees on the occasion of the second stage, the Naturland Andorra on June 2025, XNUMX.
The complete results are available at the site: www.heroucimarathonworldcup.com
MEN'S ELITE RANKING
| 1 | ALLEMAN Wout |  | 2:59:42 |
| 2 | FROM COSMO Gioele |  | 3:00:01 |
| 3 | RABENSTEINER Fabian | | 3:00:21 |
| 4 | GORIA Stephen | | 3:00:56 |
| 5 | EVENSEN-LIE Eskil |  | 3:01:15 |
| 6 | SEEWALD Andreas |  | 3:02:58 |
| 7 | EID Emil Hasund | | 3:03:09 |
| 8 | DORIGONI Jakob | | 3:03:24 |
| 9 | STUTZMANN Marc |  | 3:03:34 |
| 10 | SAMPARISI Nicolas | | 3:03:41 |
FEMALE ELITE RANKING
| 1 | VAN DOORN Pink |  | 3:37:15 |
| 2 | NJEMCEVIC Lejla |  | 3:42:52 |
| 3 | MORATH Adelheid | | 3:43:33 |
| 4 | PLAIN Deborah | | 3:45:45 |
| 5 | MAIRHOFER Sandra | | 3:46:31 |
| 6 | FUMAGALLI Mara | I | 3:47:28 |
| 7 | CZABOK Klaudia |  | 3:49:03 |
| 8 | KORTEKAAS Tessa | | 3:51:24 |
| 9 | LOOSER True |  | 3:52:11 |
| 10 | SOSNA-PINELE Katazina |  LTU | 3:52:23 |
