Seewald and Van Doorn conquer the Black Forest ULTRA Bike Marathon
Dear HEROes,
We’ve just finished another spectacular weekend at the Black Forest ULTRA Bike Marathon, the 2025 HERO UCI Cross-country Marathon World Cup’s fourth round. The expectations the night before the big day were soaring high – and we weren’t let down, as the race was a whirlwind of emotions!
Over 120 Elite athletes competed in Kirchzarten in Germany and, together with thousands of amateurs, raced on the course’s 118 km and 3,550 hm – a fast track which really pushed the limits of everyone’s endurance… and legs!
Ultimately, Andreas Seewald from Germany, racing for Singer KTM Racing, won the race, finishing the racetrack in 4:21:50. A beautiful, sunny day, one where he raced along with the some of the best cyclists until he broke away 40 km from the finish line. His victory in the Black Forest’s mountains cements his leadership in the 2025 HERO UCI Marathon World Cup’s overall ranking.
Gioele De Cosmo, from Italy and team Torpado Kenda FSA, came in second thanks to his momentous and nail-biting sprint at the end. The cyclist from Turin beat Wout Alleman, from Buff-Megamo Team, by 2:21 – the Belgian cyclist was all set to go in the race’s first part, but he couldn’t maintain the performance until the very end.
Leo Paez, from Colombia, who’d always taken the spotlight in the previous UCI World Cup’s rounds, still competed despite some physical issues which impacted him in the last week, leading him to finish 21st in this round.
This race was the race of sprints as, even among the women, Rosa Van Doorn, from team Buff-Megamo, had to sprint to beat Mara Fumagalli, from Italy. The Dutch cyclist finished the German race in 5:17:36., while German cyclist Adelheid Morath finished in 5:19:40 and came third.
The next and final round is on 21 September, in Spain, at the La Tramun Sea Otter Europe, which will crown the winners of the 2025 HERO UCI Cross-country Marathon World Cup.