An All-Italina Men’s Podium at Capoliveri’s

On the same 73-km route, the women weren’t to be outdone and put on quite the show. Anna Weinbeer walloped her rivals, her victory leaving her a good 4 and a half minutes of rest before Natalia Fischer, from Spain, caught up to her in second place, followed Lejla Njemcevic from Bosnia closing in third.

A thrilling race for both the Elite and the over 1,800 amateurs thanks to technical trails overlooking the breathtaking landscapes of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the rugged nature of Elba.

The results are in and both Elite and amateur cyclists agree: the Capoliveri Legend Cup trails are beautiful, technical, and fun! And that’s part of the reason why today, the mountain bike race which doubles as the 2026 HERO UCI Marathon World Cup second round, put on a high-octane show featuring one-on-one challenges and solitary breakaways. 

181 Elite and Master Licence cyclists, hailing from 22 countries, joined the starting grid for the race to compete on 73 km and 2,600 hm. They competed for points which would contribute to their position in the HERO UCI Cross-country Marathon World’s overall ranking. Just like in every other round of the circuit, the centre of Capoliveri too welcomed countless amateurs: over 1,800 kicked off from the starting line. 

Today’s hopefuls bid their time at the start – but it didn’t last long. Already past the GPM on Monte Calamita – described as the “KOM Andrea Crispu Challenge” – some cyclists attempted the first breakways. One of them was led by Fabian Rabensteiner, Stefano Goria and Gioele De Cosmo near Strada delle Mimose (one third into the race). The attempt was soon stopped by Leonardo Paez, from Colombia, representing team LeeCougan Basso, followed by an extremely vivacious Jakob Dorigoni from South Tyrol. Things changed yet again just before the Muro della Leggenda: veteran Paez, born in 1982, was overtaken by the younger De Cosmo, Goria, and a lively Dorigoni. The last kilometres saw Goria and Dorigoni leading the way side by side and, while they were happy to collaborate to break away from the rest of the group despite belonging to different teams, their collaboration went above mere strategy: Dorigoni helped Goria remove a small branch which had got stuck in his rear tyre. As the finish line loomed, however, they broke off their alliance and 28-year-old Jakob Dorigoni graduated top of his cohort, winning the race. Today’s celebrations will precede his actual graduation ceremony in Sport and Exercise Sciences which he’s studying at Innsbruck University.

Jakob Dorigoni says: “Cycling on the island of Elba is beautiful – breathtaking, actually, due to its stimulating, fun, and technical trail. Take today: this was a full-throttle race throughout – you couldn’t let up and were always on your toes. And if you win, of course, the race becomes even better. Winning confirms my physical condition and shines a light on the possibilities for the rest of the season.”

Stefano Goria, also from Italy but representing Scott Racing Team, placed second just a few seconds after Dorigoni. The third place on the podium went to another Italian, Gioele De Cosmo, who crossed the finish line 1:10.23’ behind his team mate Dorigoni.

The current World Cup leader, Wout Alleman from Belgium, placed fourth, but still gets to wear the leader jersey as he’s first in the overall ranking as his main rival, Andreas Seewald from Germany, finished 27th.

There were no tales of thrilling head-to-heads for the Women but for a very specific reason: Anna Weinbeer, current leader of the World Cup after winning the debut race in Calpe last February, once again confirmed that whoever wants to win this trophy will have to face her. She left the rest of the group eating dust in shortly after the GPM and continued solo for the rest of the race, returning to Capoliveri in 3:46:35.

Anna Weinbeer’s immediate response after winning? “I raced beautifully in a beautiful location. These are the two memories I’ll take back home from Elba. The race went swimmingly: it was a technical and fun trail, and I’m in peak physical condition – so much so I felt so good I even enjoyed the landscape! Without ever losing focus from the race, of course. I can face the next races in a more serene manner.”

Natalia Fischer from Spain, representing Extremadura Ecopilas UCI MTB Team, crossed the finish line 4:29 behind Weinbeer, placing second, followed by Lejla Njemcevic who finished third at 3:53:23. The first Italian in the Women’s race to cross the finish line was Chiara Gualandi of LeeCougan Basso: she placed sixth – over 15 minutes behind the winner.

The Master Licence put on quite the show as well: both current World Cup winners, Alexandre Llado Diaz from Spain and Anna Magoń-Romanów from Poland, won the men and women’s race respectively in their category.

The HERO UCI Marathon World Cup will jet off to the Pyrenees: in less than three weeks’ time the third round will take place in Andorra during the Naturland - Andorra on 31 May 2026. Wout Alleman and Anna Weinbeer will once again wear the leader jersey – ready to fight with all they’ve got against whoever wants to take it away from them.

ELITE MEN RANKING

DORIGONI Jakob ITA 3:11:51.63
GORIA Stefano ITA 3:11:54.16 +2.53
DE COSMO Gioele ITA 3:13:01.86 +1:10.23
ALLEMAN Wout BEL 3:15:02.95 +3:11.32
RABENSTEINER Fabian ITA 3:15:07.13 +3:15.50
HARTMANN Jakob GER SINGER KTM RACING 3:15:19.65 +3:28.02
PAEZ Leonardo COL LEECOUGAN BASSO 3:15:32.20 +3:40.57
BILLI Jacopo ITA 3:16:11.34 +4:19.71
GERBAZ Stefano ITA 3:16:13.50 +4:21.87
FOCCOLI Davide ITA 3:16:21.62 +4:29.99

ELITE WOMEN RANKING

WEINBEER Anna SUI KTM SPADA 3:46:35.88
FISCHER Natalia ESP EXTREMADURA ECOPILAS 3:51:04.92 +4:29.04
NJEMCEVIC Lejla BIH 3:53:23.72 +6:47.84
GORYCKA - KURMANN POL 4:00:25.24 +13:49.36 Paula
BOHLIN Amanda SWE 4:01:25.56 +14:49.68
GUALANDI Chiara ITA LEECOUGAN BASSO 4:01:39.96 +15:04.08
MAIRHOFER Sandra ITA LEECOUGAN BASSO 4:06:44.51 +20:08.63
PERETTI Claudia ITA 4:10:19.04 +23:43.16
BOLTON Chelsea USA 4:10:26.01 +23:50.13
BAUMANN Chrystelle SUI 4:11:25.20 +24:49.32

INFO: UCI Marathon World Cup