LEO PAEZ AND ROSA VAN DOORN WIN THE NATURLAND - ANDORRA
Sant Julià de Lòria, in the Principality of Andorra, shines like a diamond among the Pyrenees. Located at 2,000 m, this plateau is an outstanding cross-country ski resort during winter but as soon as the snow melts, turns into an ideal stage for mountain biking.
The 2025 HERO UCI Cross-country Marathon World Cup alighted here during June’s first weekend. The Naturland, Andorra’s marathon race, takes place on an extremely technical trail boasting 60 km and 1,984 hm. Besides the track itself, cyclists had to prove their stamina and physical fitness during this race due to its location at 2,000 m altitude.
And guess who came out on top among the men? Our friend Hector Leonardo Paez Leon – although we just call him Leo Paez. A performance which resembled that of the Leo of old – always spearheading the group during the starting phases, then giving it his all on the climbs where he truly shines, both in terms of performance and headspace. Hot on his heels, the current world champion, Andreas Seewald (Germany) representing team Singer KTM Racing, and Wout Alleman, from Belgium, representing Buff Megamo. Given his performance in the Pyrenees, it's a safe bet that the Colombian will start as favourite on Saturday, 14 June at the HERO Dolomites.
After her first win in Capoliveri, Rosa van Doorn from Buff Megamo Team won again! The Dutch athlete was quite surprised by her victory as her home country has little to no steep climbs she could have trained on. The rest of the podium welcomed Sandra Mayrhofer, from Italy, and Vera Looser, from Namibia – the latter is ready to defend her title of champion at the HERO Dolomites against the other two cyclists. The final, overall ranking was truly an international one, with 9 countries represented across the top 10 spots. Among the Men’s ranking, the ratio is 6:10.
The leaders of the overall ranking remains the same – after round 1 in Capoliveri and round 2 in Andorra, the 2025 HERO UCI Cross-country Marathon World Cup’s ranking leaders for the Elite category remain Wout Alleman and Rosa Van Doorn. In the Master’s ranking, the leader is Alexandre Llado Diaz from Spain, and Kamila Gurzynska from Poland among the women.