Mlady and Kopp win the 2025 UCI Cycle-ball World Cup Final
Germany’s Bernd Mlady and Gerhard Kopp of RMC Stein 1 signed off from international competition in spectacular style. During the UCI Cycle-ball World Cup Final on 6 December in Hofen (Germany), the reigning UCI World Champions reaffirmed their dominance with a 7–2 win over long-time rivals RV Dornbirn 1 (Austria).
“This brings our two-year adventure to an end,” the pair wrote on social media. “To win the UCI World Cup Final and complete our second treble of National Championships, UCI World Championships and the UCI World Cup is more than a triumph; it really is the icing on the cake.”
Prior to 2023, Mlady and Kopp competed on different teams, each having earned the UCI World Champion rainbow jersey. After their respective partners stepped away from the sport, they formed a new partnership that delivered impressive results.
Their farewell in Hofen proved particularly emotional. Moments before the final kick-off, their Dornbirn opponents gifted them deckchairs as a light-hearted gift for them to relax in for their retirement, while the Swiss team from Altdorf offered them the symbolic nail on which they are to hang up their bikes
“We cannot put it into words, nor can we thank enough all the opponents who have become friends,” Mlady and Kopp added, while also thanking all their supporters in the arena. “Behind us there was an entire group supporting us. It wasn’t enough to beat the two of us; you had to beat the whole team.”
Schnetzer and Bröll reunited
In the final against RMC Stein, Patrick Schnetzer (RV Dornbirn 1) narrowly missed out on a remarkable milestone. In addition to seeking revenge after the UCI World Championships, he had been aiming for his tenth victory in a UCI World Cup Final.
For the tournament, Schnetzer had to do without his usual partner, Stefan Feurstein, but he found an excellent replacement: Marcus Bröll, with whom he claimed five UCI World Cup general classification titles and six UCI World Championships between 2013 and 2019, returned to action. Since 2023, Bröll has again enjoyed success at national level, becoming Austrian Vice-Champion and securing two bronze medals with different partners. In Hofen, Schnetzer and Bröll quickly found their rhythm again, easily making their way to the final against Mlady and Kopp.
Local heroes
Local heroes Magnus Öhlert and Dennis Berner from host club RKV Hofen had plenty to celebrate. Since joining the Regional League in 2018, the pair has steadily climbed the ranks, winning the Japan Cup in 2023 and finishing second in Germany’s 2nd South League in 2025, just missing out on Bundesliga promotion twice. Having made it to the UCI World Cup Final, and in the highest-level competition of their careers to date, the pair fed off the energy of the packed stands, grew in confidence, and ultimately claimed eighth place, ahead of both the French and Japanese National Champions.
Third place went to Björn Vogel and Rafael Artho (RMV Mosnang), who defeated UCI World Championships bronze medallists Yannick Fröhlich and Tim Fröhlich (RS Altdorf 1) 3–2 in a Swiss derby.