HERO UCI MARATHON: VALERO AND WEINBEER WIN IN THE PYRENEES

Today’s champions will wear the overall ranking’s red leader jersey at the next race: the HERO Südtirol Dolomites on 13 June.

Andorra – Sunday, 31 May 2026 – Today’s Naturland Andorra was the 2026 HERO UCI Cross-country Marathon World Cup midway round, with the outline of the World Cup’s final winners starting to take shape. Andorra was unique for its completely Spanish-speaking men’s podium and one athlete’s incredible hat trick.

Let’s start from the beginning. A good 123 cyclists from 28 countries competed in the Elite and Master Licence categories. The World Cup circuit cyclists rode up to the starting grid to face 68 km and 2,145 hm. Just like in the series’ other races, amateurs also joined the pros in Andorra. The starting line for everyone was located in the centre of the Naturland Bike Centre sport infrastructure.

The race developed on a circuit boasting approximately 22 km. Athletes had to complete it three times – the format was well received by both race technicians and the cyclists. The latter exploited this feature to plan their race strategy to the very last detail: one loop to come to grips with the circuit, a second run to distance themselves from their rivals, and the final circuit to go full throttle and tap into their last remaining energy. David Valero Serrano, representing Klimatiza Orbea Team, seems to have followed the plan to a T: he let his rivals, including Eskil Evensen-Lie from Norway and other starred cyclists, including the current World Cup leader, Wout Alleman, power on ahead. In the final loop, Serrano ended up guiding a group, including a recurring name, i.e. Leo Paez, Team Leecougan Basso Factory Racing, as well as Dario Cherchi and Samuele Porro from Klimatiza Orbea Team. On the last climb, the two Italians couldn’t keep up with the sudden energy burst of two outsiders: Martin Fanger from Switzerland and Jose Gerardo Ulloa Arevalo – a Mexican cyclist living in Andorra. The race’s altitude didn’t affect him, considering he’d won an XCO race yesterday in the Naturland complex. On a climb five kilometres from the finish line, Valero made his move, and cut in front of Paez, leaving him cycling to catch up. Yet the Colombian cyclist never managed to close the 15 or so seconds gap between him and Valero, with the Spaniard raising his hands to the sky when he crossed the finish line, winning the race in 2:57:45.

David Valero’s first impressions? “I’m happy to have won especially because I’ve always struggled with altitude in my career. However, this year, I’d been preparing in Sierra Nevada, which is on my doorstep: it looks as though I reaped the fruits of my labour today.”

Leo Paez, representing Leecougan Basso Factory Racing, finished second on a trail which saw him win the 2025 edition, proving competing on 2,000 m altitude is his ideal battleground. Speaking with him after the race, he said “In this shape, I’m optimistic about the HERO Dolomites.” And the race’s unexpected third cyclist was Jose Gerardo Ulloa Arevalo from Mexico with his 3:00:06, who joined the podium in Andorra, making it a 100% Spanish-speaking one.

Today’s victory means David Valero will take away the overall ranking’s interim red leader jersey from Wout Alleman. Today, the Belgian finished 12th but he’s only 5 points behind Valero. The next point tally will take place in two weeks in the Dolomites.

The winner among the women was, yet again, Anna Weinbeer from Switzerland, representing KTM Spada Powered By Brenta Brakes. She finished the demanding track in 3:34:08 – her World Cup hat trick. After riding on Paula Gorycka – Kurmann’s wheel (even if only 40 seconds behind her), Weinbeer ‘floored it’ in the last loop, crushing the Poles’ chances for victory.

The hattrick queen says: “A gruelling race, compounded by the temperatures – but I maintained a regular pace, and cycled only for myself. I’m going through an amazing moment in my life, also because I’m surrounded by the affection of my loved ones. Of course, I’m happy to have retained World Cup leadership, but I don’t think too far ahead in the future: I’m focusing on and enjoying every single race I compete in.”

The women’s podium was completed by Natalia Fischer from Spain, 51”67 behind the winner (the high temperatures contributed to her exhaustion when we joined her at the finish line), followed by Claudia Peretti from Italy, who finished the circuit in 3:36:08, a victory which marks her first podium in a HERO UCI Marathon World Cup race. Gorycka – Kurmann from Poland finished fourth, for the third time. The incumbent World Cup holder, Rosa Van Doorn from The Netherlands, finished fifth: she’d rejoined races after skipping the Capoliveri race as she was recovering from an accident.

Even the Master Licence category put on a great show – Xavier Calaf Garcia from Spain won the Men’s race, while Great Britain’s Sophie Johnson won the Women’s race.

The thrills of the UCI World Cup will return in less than two weeks in the Dolomites’ Val Gardena for the circuit’s fourth round: the beloved and feared HERO Südtirol Dolomites on 13 June 2026.

ELITE MEN RANKING

VALERO SERRANO David SPA KLIMATIZA ORBEA TEAM 2:57:45.64
PAEZ LEON Hector Leonardo COL LEECOUGAN BASSO 2:58:00.89 +0:15.25
ULLOA AREVALO Jose Gerardo MEX 3:00:06.22 +2:20.58
FANGER Martin SUI 3:00:12.72 +2:27.08
SOUTH Casey SUI 3:00:14.72 +2:29.08
PÉREZ MARTÍNEZ Luis Francisco SPA KLIMATIZA ORBEA TEAM 3:00:14.80 +2:29.16
PORRO Samuele ITA KLIMATIZA ORBEA TEAM 3:00:18.17 +2:32.53
AGOSTINELLI Alessio ITA LEECOUGAN BASSO 3:00:50.12 +3:04.48
DÍAS José POR KLIMATIZA ORBEA TEAM 3:01:00.53 +3:14.89
CHERCHI Dario ITA LEECOUGAN BASSO 3:01:23.11 +3:37.47
ELITE WOMEN RANKING

WEINBEER Anna SUI KTM SPADA 3:34:08.58
FISCHER Natalia SPA EXTREMADURA ECOPILAS 3:35:00.25 +0:51.67
PERETTI Claudia ITA 3:36:08.87 +2:00.29
GORYCKA - KURMANN Paula POL 3:37:03.54 +2:54.96
VAN DOORN Rosa NED 3:37:44.40 +3:35.82
GUALANDI Chiara ITA LEECOUGAN BASSO 3:51:24.80 +17:16.22
BOHLIN Amanda SWE 3:54:49.76 +20:41.18
MORATH Adelheid GER LEECOUGAN BASSO 3:55:27.13 +21:18.55
CALDERON MARTINEZ Monica COL 3:56:56.53 +22:47.95
GRAY Mary NZL 3:57:57.10 +23:48.52

View complete rankings on: https://www.heroucimarathonworldcup.com/results/2026 

For further information visit: heroucimarathonworldcup.com