Spain’s David Valero Serrano and Switzerland’s Anna Weinbeer are the overall winners of the 2026 HERO UCI Cross-country Marathon World Cup winners after victories at the final round, the Tramun Sea Otter Europe, in Girona (Spain).
Both the men and women faced a 78km route that featured nearly 3,000m of climbing. With 80% of the course made up of trails, it was one of the most technical courses of the 2026 UCI World Cup.
Riders started in Les Planes d’Hostoles before tackling challenging forest sections with a succession of climbs, descents and technical trails before reaching the Girona finish line.
Men: Valero Serrano reigns supreme
Valero Serrano lined up in Girona as the series leader on 940 points, holding a 75-point advantage over Belgium’s Wout Alleman. The Spaniard had taken victories in Andorra and the Dolomites (Italy), while Alleman rode to wins at the opening round in Calpe (Spain) and Kirchzarten round in the German Black Forest.
At the Tramun Sea Otter Europe, Valero Serrano spent much of the race up front alongside Germany’s Andreas Seewald, who’d arrived in Girona just days after being crowned XCM UCI World Champion in San Martino di Castrozza, Italy.
The pair led for much of the race before Valero Serrano made the decisive move in the closing stages. The rider from Baza accelerated hard, finally shaking off Seewald and opening a clear gap as they entered the final kilometres. From there, he never looked back, maintaining his advantage to the finish and securing the victory alone.
Valero crossed the line with a time of 4:32:00 – over two minutes ahead of Seewald. Norway’s Eskil Evensen-Lie completed the podium, while Samuele Porro (Italy) was fourth. Alleman, the only rider who could still challenge Valero Serrano for the overall title before the race, finished fifth.
The win wraps up an extraordinary season for Valero Serrano that also saw him take victories at the UEC XCM European Championships in Ramales de la Victoria (Spain) and the Spanish XCO National Championships in Madrid. A mechanical in the opening stages of the recent UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships put him out of contention for the 2026 rainbow jersey.
Valero Serrano’s victory in Girona left him on 1,190 points with Alleman in second (1,005 points). Colombia’s Héctor Leonardo Páez finished third on 770 points. Italy’s Samuele Porro and Stefano Goria completed the top five.
Women: Weinbeer simply unstoppable
Anna Weinbeer had already secured overall victory at the 2026 HERO UCI Marathon World Cup with one round still to race. Her 1,150 points gave her an unassailable 255-point advantage over Spain’s Natalia Fischer. But despite having the title wrapped up, she showed no signs of easing off for the final round in Girona, and once again unleashed a dominant appearance.
The 31-year-old Swiss rider looked unstoppable, as she crossed the line in 5:32:52, finishing almost five minutes clear of Italy’s Claudia Peretti. Natalia Fischer Egusquiza (ESP) secured third place. Poland’s Paula Gorycka-Kurmann and Ukraine’s Yana Belomoina rounded out the top five.
The victory in Girona caps a memorable season for Weinbeer. Her title came off the back of winning four of the first five rounds of the HERO UCI Cross-country Marathon World Cup.
The only blot on her perfect season came at the Italian round, where local hero Peretti took the victory, with Rosa van Doorn second and Weinbeer down in fourth.
Just last week, Weinbeer followed her UCI World Cup dominance by winning the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships, where she launched a huge solo breakaway from 70km out. Earlier in the season, she also won the UEC European Championships.
Weinbeer tops the overall UCI World Cup rankings with 1,400 points. Fischer finished second on 1,055 points with Peretti third on 980 points. Gorycka-Kurmann and Bohlin finished fourth and fifth, respectively.