Andreas Seewald was the radiant winner in Val Gardena. © Harald Wisthaler

The HERO heroes come from Germany and Namibia

The HERO Dolomites 2024 in Val Gardena is history! The victory in the world's toughest mountain bike marathon, which took place this Saturday, went to Andreas Seewald, while in the women's race Vera Looser triumphed ahead of South Tyrolean Sandra Mairhofer.

June 15, 2024

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The names of those who had registered for the HERO 2024 promised an exciting race - and expectations were not disappointed. The world's toughest mountain bike marathon featured the strongest riders in the marathon discipline according to the UCI rankings, and the presence of Peter Sagan, Ned Overend and Marco Aurelio Fontana also attracted a lot of attention.

In the men's race, German Andreas Seewald from Team Canyon Sidi Mtb secured first place on the podium. He was the fastest rider on the 86-kilometer course with its 4.500-meter elevation gain, with a time of 4:31.32 hours.

"I knew I had to beat Paez," said Seewald. "That's why I gave everything from the start to put him under pressure - because his strength is the distance. Of course, that's a risk at first, especially in a race as tough as the HERO. But I knew I had the necessary stamina to survive the second part of the race and stay ahead of everyone else."

A victory that is all the more valuable when you consider who was hot on his heels: competitors of the highest level such as Seewald's teammate Martin Stosek, who came in second, 3.16 minutes and 4 seconds behind the winner. Third place went to eight-time HERO champion Leon Paez with a time of 37.48:XNUMX hours.

Mairhofer surprises everyone

The elite riders competed on the 60-kilometer course, which had an elevation gain of 3.200 meters. The winner was Namibian Vera Looser from the Lapierre Bikes team, who crossed the finish line after 4:04.34 hours.

"I had to stay focused throughout the race because, unlike Mairhofer, climbing isn't really my thing - my strength is more on descents and flat sections," said Looser. "I'm really happy with this result because it's also a strong starting point for the Olympics, where I'll be taking part in the cycling road race."

Sandra Mairhofer (l.) came second behind Vera Looser (middle). © Harald Wisthaler

Looser beat her direct competitor Sandra Mairhofer from the Polisportiva Caluschese Ciclismo ASD team. The triathlete from Brixen, who finished with a time difference of 6.02:2, surprisingly finished in second place. Debora Piana came third with a time of 4:10'52".

Peter Sagan attracts attention

Among the many heroes and heroines at the start there were also some real legends of off-road and road cycling. Among them was the eagerly awaited Peter Sagan, who returned to his first love, mountain biking, after ending his career as a professional road cyclist. After already taking part in the HERO in Abu Dhabi, he now also took part in the "mother race" in the Dolomites.

The Slovakian obviously enjoyed competing with Marco Aurelio Fontana, with whom he competed especially during the first climb of the Dantercepies. This was not the first time that the two had met on the race track - they had already competed against each other in several cross-country competitions, including during the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

This year, the HERO was once again a real cycling spectacle.

Ned Overend, who was the first ever mountain bike world champion in the cross country discipline in 1990, was also eagerly awaited. The top rider, who is now 68 years old, has not lost his enthusiasm for his sport over the years and took part in the HERO for the second time this year after 2019. Overend competed in the 60-kilometer course, which he completed with a time of 5:10.08,4 hours. Following last year's experience, Marco Aurelio Fontana also started again in the HERO Dolomites. The Olympic participant and bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games also started in the 60-kilometer course, for which he needed 4:07.28 hours.