ULTRA Bike Marathon in Kirchzarten Gains Huge Prestige as Part of the New Marathon World Cup Series in Its Anniversary Year

What an incredible coup! "We are very happy that we managed to make this highlight happen in our anniversary year," says ULTRA Bike Managing Director Britta Schreiber. Celebration is certainly in order: The ULTRA long-distance race in Kirchzarten will be part of the newly established five-race "HERO UCI Marathon World Cup" for the 2025 season. "This is a big step for us. When people hear 'World Cup,' they immediately understand its significance," explains ULTRA Bike Race Director Sebastian Eckmann. "It is both a reward and recognition for the hard work our entire team has put in over the years."

The ULTRA Bike will take place for the 25th time on July 13, and its upgrade to a World Cup event is a major milestone. Simon Stiebjahn, the eighth-place finisher at the World Championships from Titisee-Neustadt, sums it up perfectly: "The World Cup is the highest level of competition in any sport. I’m thrilled that the ULTRA Bike is part of it this year and that I have a World Cup race right on my doorstep."

A New Vision for the Marathon World Cup
The Marathon World Cup has been reimagined: The coordinator and promoter of the new series is Gerhard Vanzi from Italy, who has organized the spectacular HERO Südtirol Dolomites event (86 km / 4,500 meters of elevation) for 15 years. "We are proud of the trust that the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) has placed in us. Now, we are getting to work to make the new UCI World Cup series truly spectacular." The initial agreement runs until 2028.

Simon Stiebjahn is confident that the newly structured World Cup series will be successful: "These are all well-established races with excellent infrastructure. They know exactly what makes a great marathon event and what resonates with riders." Over the past few years, there has been strong collaboration with the cycling world federation. "The feedback on our event has always been positive," says Eckmann. "The HERO series was the final puzzle piece in creating this exciting new World Cup format."

Lessons from Previous Years
In 2023, there were four World Cup marathon races worldwide, but in 2024, that number dropped to just three. Two of the races were linked to Cross-Country World Cups in Nove Mesto (Czech Republic) and Lake Placid (USA). In Morzine (France), the second stop of the series, only 60 men and 22 women finished the race. In Lake Placid, the numbers were even lower, with 37 men and 16 women completing the course.

The UCI had previously worked with a media company to promote the series, but as Stiebjahn explains: "They clearly underestimated the effort required for marathon races. Many things didn’t work. The races were meant to be open to everyone, but that concept wasn’t embraced." He adds, "As athletes and teams, we were disappointed with the execution, as well as the overall quality and scale of the events."

The HERO UCI Marathon World Cup 2025
"The HERO UCI Marathon World Cup is a new racing series specifically designed for specialists in this mountain bike discipline, and we are delighted to announce the race calendar for 2025. The series connects some of the most renowned MTB marathon races in the world, all of which provide the perfect conditions for spectacular competitions," states UCI President David Lappartient of France.

The following long-distance races will make up the HERO UCI Marathon World Cup this season:

May 10 – Capoliveri Legend Cup (Elba, Italy)
June 1 – Naturland Andorra (Pyrenees)
June 14 – HERO Südtirol Dolomites (Selva, Italy)
July 13 – Black Forest ULTRA Bike (Kirchzarten, Germany)
September 21 – La Tramun Sea Otter Europe (Girona, Spain)

For more information about the HERO UCI Marathon World Cup, visit:

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