1200 mountainbikers take on the heavy Roc Marathon

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For the third time Houffalize played host to the Roc d'Ardenne. On Saturday the Roc Marathon proved to be an epic challenge for more than a thousand participants.

Over 1,200 participants took to the start of the 83 km course in the Ardennes. The race was open both licensed and unlicensed riders. The start of the UCI mountainbike marathon for licensed women was held at 8:15, followed by the men’s race at 9:00. They were followed by three mass starts for unlicensed participants.

Following torrential rains in the south of Belgium, the mountainbikers had to conquer an extremely tough and muddy course, even though the event itself was held in dry conditions.

In the men’s race, Norway’s Soren Nissen (Racing Team STE) escaped from a small group to take the victory. He finished with a time of 3:51:51, 20 minutes more than last year’s winner, which only shows the toughness of the course. Sacha Weber (BQ Cycling Team) was second, two minutes behind Nissen. That was quite the performance, as the German had to tackle a part of the race without his saddle. His compatriot Tim Böhme (Team Bulls) finished in third.

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Roc d'Ardenne will be back in 2025!

Date: from Friday 2 May to Sunday 4 May 2025

Be ready for the 10th edition!

More info regarding the opening of the registrations soon on our website.