Wet and Windy Conditions Do Not Dampen Cannondale ISB Sport’s Fighting Spirit

Having won in the rain at the Absa Cape Epic, on Stages 6 and 7, the wet and windy conditions for the opening stage of 4Islands Epic suited Mónica Calderón and Tessa Kortekaas to perfection.

They got their bid for a third Epic Series title off to a winning start on Lošinj. As did Hans Becking and Wout Alleman, who are chasing their second Epic Series overall victory.

On the 15^th of April 2025, 4Islands Epic got underway with a 14-kilometre Prologue on Lošinj. Rain overnight and high winds persisted into the morning and stopped the normal operation of the ferries between the Kvarner Islands and the Croatian mainland. Fortunately, an alternative plan had been made during registration, the day before, which allowed the racing to go ahead. Cannondale ISB Sport and Buff Megamo were least affected by the change in route, as well as the inclement weather.

The opening day was moved from Unije to Mali Lošinj due to a storm raging around the westernmost island, which the tenth edition was scheduled to visit. The change led to the Prologue being shortened from 21 to 14 kilometres, but the additional day on Lošinj suited the teams logistically, as it meant that registration and the first two days would all centre on Mali Lošinj. A punchy course with numerous, short, sharp climbs provided Mónica Calderón and Tessa Kortekaas with the perfect opportunity to lay down an early marker.

The Cannondale ISB Sport pair notched up general classification victories at the Andorra Epic and the SPAR Swiss Epic in 2024 before claiming two stages at the 2025 Absa Cape Epic. They carried that stage-winning momentum into the Adriatic and drew first blood in their tussle with Bianca Haw. Haw had held Calderon and Kortekaas at bay, by the skin of her teeth, to claim the final podium place in South Africa. In Croatia, the Safari Essence half of the Safari Essence Efficient Ensure team is partnered by Vera Looser; rather than Hayley Preen, with whom Haw contested the Absa Cape Epic.

“It was a very wet and slippery Prologue,” Kortekaas noted. “I think this terrain is good for us in wet conditions, as we have an advantage with the Lefty on the Cannondale, but it is also a combination of equipment and being in good shape. We were able to control our bikes well on the complicated terrain and were able to establish a difference on the other teams, though that difference was not so big today because the stage was also quite short. So let’s see if we can keep the lead over the coming days.”

Calderon and Kortekaas’s time of 37 minutes and 23 seconds was 19 seconds better than Haw and Looser’s effort. The Slovak National Team combination, of Janka Keseg Stevkova and Martina Krahulcova, was a further 5 seconds off the pace. These close time gaps suggest that the coming stages will be fiercely contested, even if the weather improves, as it is predicted to do, for Wednesday’s Stage 1.

In the UCI Men’s race, Hans Becking and Wout Alleman earned the first yellow CIOVITA jerseys. The Buff Megamo team has, despite their Epic Series success, never won the elite men’s competition at 4Islands Epic. Becking took home the Mixed Category leaders’ jersey, alongside Naima Madlen Diesner in 2022 and, in 2024, Janina Wust and Rosa van Doorn won the UCI Women’s competition. The Prologue victory is thus a step towards a converted title for Becking and Alleman. Though they have worn the leaders’ jerseys at the Absa Cape Epic their only Epic Series victory together came at the Andorra Epic last year.

“In general, we can only be happy because we won today,” Becking smiled after the Prologue. “Conditions were challenging, but I think they suited us because both Wout [Alleman] and I are used to racing in the mud. For me personally, I have a lot to prove because I want to show that I can be fast again. Luckily Wout is always fast, so I can count on him. It’s only half an hour of the race, so it maybe doesn’t show too much, but it was good for the confidence to win.”

Becking and Alleman’s margin of victory was just 36 seconds over defending champion Nicola Taffarel and his new Metallurgica Veneta 1 teammate, Diego Arias. The two KTM Spada Powered by Brenta Brakes teams are then within 5 seconds of each other, in third and fourth. Nicholas Pettinà and Ramon Vantaggiato hold the podium place, after the first day of racing, ahead of the brothers Nicolas and Lorenzo Samparisi. Simon Schneller and Urs Huber round out the top five, 55 seconds down, while Metallurgica Veneta 2’s Jacopo Billi and Andrea Candeago are exactly 1 minute back in sixth.

With six teams within 60 seconds of the lead, Stage 1 is sure to be closely contested. It is the first marathon day of the race, and takes in a 40 kilometre route with 850 metres of climbing, on the island of Lošinj. The course begins in Mali Lošinj and flirts with the isle’s small urban centres, while also showcasing how rugged and raw the mountain biking in Croatia can be. Though the relatively short route should make gaining significant time difficult, a catastrophic puncture is always a risk on the rocky trails of 4Islands Epic.