For its 23rd year of existence, the UCI Cycle-ball World Cup will open this weekend in the village of Baj, marking Hungary’s debut on the calendar of the series that was introduced in 2002.
While Baj is a new host, its club KSE Baj is no newcomer to the UCI Cycle-ball World Cup. Tamas Sfzitas and Attila Tatac competed in that first UCI World Cup back in 2002 and were ranked 26th overall.
Then, from 2011, Sfzitas competed in the UCI Cycle-ball World Cup four years in a row with new teammate, Vilmos Toma. The latter is still active, now playing with Tamas Árendás for Tatai AC. The pair competed in the UCI Cycle-ball World Cup last year, and in 2021 and 2024, finished second in the B division at the UCI Indoor Cycling World Championships.
As hosts of this year’s opening UCI Cycle-ball World Cup tournament, KSE Baj have a wildcard, which will be used by the team of Bence Krausz and Viktor Orcsik. The duo had already represented Hungary in the 2017 UCI Cycle-ball World Cup, finishing in 20th place.
Favourites return
Among the favourites for the first victory of the season in the UCI Cycle-ball World Cup are the teams from Germany, Austria and Czechia. The focus is on two returning teams. Germans Michael Birkner and Robert Mlady (RMC Stein) are making their comeback to the UCI Cycle-ball World Cup after a three-year absence. In 2021 they placed fourth in the overall ranking and finished seventh in the final. Austrians Pascal Fontain and Patrick Köck (RV Dornbirn) last competed in the UCI Cycle-ball World Cup in 2022, missing out on the final tournament and finishing in ninth position in the ranking.
The two Czech teams TJ Sokol Zlín (Radek Adam and Tomáš Horák) and MO Svitávka (Jiří Hrdlicka and Roman Stanek), as well as Austria’s RV Sulz (Kevin Bachmann and Michael Welte), all competing in their third successive UCI Cycle-ball World Cup season, will be the teams in Hungary with the most UCI World Cup experience.
The UCI Cycle-ball World Cup defending winners and reigning UCI World Champions Raphael Kopp and Bernd Mlady (Stein/GER) as well as their closest challengers – runners-up in both the 2024 UCI World Championships and the 2024 UCI World Cup – Patrick Schnetzer and Stefan Feurstein (Dornbirn/AUT) will sit out the first round of the 2025 UCI Cycle-ball World Cup, and enter the competition later in the series.
2025 UCI Cycle-ball World Cup calendar
This year, four rounds – including the final – will be held in Germany, after the Asian tournament will be hosted in Hong Kong, and there will be two rounds in Switzerland later in the season.
29 March: Baj, Hungary
11 May: Hong Kong
26 July: Waldbüttelbrunn, Germany
13 September: Sangerhausen, Germany
11 October: Chemnitz, Germany
1 November: Winterthur, Switzerland
15 November: Schöftland, Switzerland
6 December (Final): Hofen, Germany.