Having accumulated ten stage victories across the five days of the 2025 4Islands Epic, the top UCI Men’s and Women’s teams each dominated their category. Buff Megamo’s final triumph came over KTM Spada Powered by Brenta Brakes 2, while Cannondale ISB Sport bested Safari Essence Efficient Insure for the fifth time in the week. Hans Becking and Wout Alleman’s final margin of victory was 8 minutes and 56 seconds over Nicholas Pettinà and Ramon Vantaggiato. Monica Calderon and Tessa Kortekaas were even more dominant, securing their third Epic Series title by 23 minutes and 57 seconds over Bianca Haw and Vera Looser.

The final day of the tenth edition of the 4Islands Epic took place on the island of Krk. A challenging 71-kilometre route, with 1 500 metres of climbing, concluded the 260-kilometre, five-day stage race. Going into Stage 4, both Cannondale ISB Sport and Buff Megamo held near 8-minute leads and were on course to complete a clean sweep of stage wins. Hans Becking, Wout Alleman, Monica Calderon, and Tessa Kortekaas clearly all channelled Becking’s Stage 3 assertion that presents were for Christmas and set out to complete the race in style.

For Calderon and Kortekaas, the victory would add to the Andorra Epic and SPAR Swiss Epic titles they won in the Epic Series in 2024. Though on the final reckoning, the Cannondale ISB Sport team’s dominance was emphatic, their victory was anything but certain after the first three days. Calderon and Kortekaas won the shortened, 14-kilometre Prologue by just 19 seconds from Bianca Haw and Vera Looser. Stage 1 then saw the Safari Essence Efficient Insure team puncture early and chase for over 35 kilometres to reduce their time losses to just 57 seconds. Kortekaas struggled with the punchy and short nature of the 40-kilometre stage and as a result had an off day on Stage 2. This allowed Haw and Looser to close a 90 second gap down to just 13 seconds on the finish line and left Cannondale ISB Sport fans wondering if their favourites would be able to hang onto the orange CIOVITA UCI Women’s leaders’ jerseys. On Stage 3, Calderon and Kortekaas answered that question in emphatic style, winning by 6 minutes and 25 seconds to take their general classification lead from just 1:29 to 7:54.

Going into Stage 4, they could thus focus on simply securing the overall victory, yet they were determined to put an exclamation point on their 4Islands Epic performance. From the gun, Cannondale ISB Sport put their rivals under pressure and worked to convert a fast start into another dominant margin of victory. Initially, the Slovak National Team were best able to follow, but as the stage wore on, Janka Keseg Stevkova and Martina Krahulcova’s chase faltered. Safari Essence Efficient Insure reeled in the women in second on the trails, near the halfway point in the day, but could not aid in reducing the gap to Calderon and Kortekaas.

The Slovak National Team’s Janka Keseg Stevkova and Martina Krahulcova had their best day of the race on the final stage.Photo by Dunja Dopsaj.

With nearly 8 minutes in hand, on the day and almost 16 on the virtual general classification standings, going into the final 30 kilometres, Cannondale ISB Sport could have coasted to stage and overall honours. That is not their style, however, and they powered up the final two climbs and down the long descent to Baška, crossing the Calderon and Kortekaas were nearly 13 minutes ahead of Keseg Stevkova and Krahulcova on the day. In third, Haw and Looser ceded over 16 minutes on the final stage, more than they had lost on the preceding four days.

“We’re incredibly happy to take 5 out of 5,” Kortekaas smiled. We came here with the goal to win. After having won in Andorra and in Switzerland, unfortunately not in the Absa Cape Epic, but that’s still on the bucket list. As I said, we’re very happy to take the win at the 4Islands Epic.”

Tessa Kortekaas

Tessa Kortekaas finished the race strong, adding 16 minutes to their margin of victory. Photo by Sam Clark.

“I didn’t feel very great at the beginning of the race, on the first two stages and lost a bit of confidence because of that,” the Spanish Marathon Champion confessed. “But I know I usually feel better in the second part of a stage race, and that’s what happened this time, too. I really feel better in the last two stages, feeling strong and getting back my confidence. I’m really happy with the performance and our work together, but also, I really enjoyed the race and the scenery. It’s incredible, it’s totally different than any other race. We hop from island to island and get to see a lot of Croatia. It’s really a beautiful country. Every island is a bit different, although every island is quite rocky.”

Cannondale ISB Sport

Monica Calderon and Tessa Kortekaas celebrate their 4Islands Epic success. Photo by Sam Clark.

The UCI Men’s race had been a less closely contested affair, from the off, though Buff Megamo’s final margin of victory was smaller than Cannondale ISB Sport’s. Becking and Alleman won the Prologue time trial by 36 seconds from Metallurgica Veneta MTB Pro 1. On Stage 1, Nicola Taffarel and Diego Arias’s challenge crumbled, and the KTM Spada Powered by Brenta Brakes teams emerged as Buff Megamo’s closest rivals. Having ceded nearly a minute on the opening day and 90 seconds on Stage 1, both Nicolas and Lorenzo Samparisi, as well as Nicholas Pettinà and Ramon Vantaggiato, were already around 2 minutes and 20 seconds back. On Stage 3, the Samparisi brothers received an hour time penalty for outside assistance, leaving just KTM Spada Powered by Brenta Brakes 2 as rivals for Becking and Alleman. All the while, the men in the yellow CIOVITA jerseys notched up stage wins, adding valuable minutes to their general classification buffer.

On the penultimate stage, despite a 6 and a half minute lead, they refused to relinquish an opportunity to win and went to the line in a three-team sprint against Metallurgica Veneta MTB Pro 2 and KTM Spada Powered by Brenta Brakes 1. Again, Becking and Alleman emerged victorious, setting themselves up for a chance at 4Islands Epic history and a clean sweep of stage wins. Showing an insatiable hunger, they stormed onto the tracks and trails of Krk.

Nicholas Pettinà

KTM Spada Powered by Brenta Brakes 2’s Nicholas Pettinà and Ramon Vantaggiato were Buff Megamo’s nearest rivals on the general classification after five days of racing. Photo by Dunja Dopsaj.

The two KTM Spada Powered by Brenta Brakes teams followed Buff Megamo as best they could, but on the climb to the Chapel of St Kristofor, the elastic snapped. By the summit, Becking and Alleman had a 1-minute lead, which they would maintain for the final 24 kilometres. On the final day, their winning margin was 70 seconds over Nicolas and Lorenzo Samparisi, with Pettinà and Vantaggiato a further second back.

“The stage today… we pushed quite hard and then the Italian teams [KTM Spada Powered by Brenta Brakes 1 & 2] came back,” Becking explained with a grin. “Then one of the Italians destroyed the other Italians, and we were able to ride way. Then Wout [Alleman] attacked me, and I dropped. I came back and tried to attack Wout, but Wout wouldn’t drop.”

Buff Megamo

Buff Megamo never relented, winning all five stages. Photo by Sam Clark.

Becoming more serious, the popular Dutch mountain biker continued: “It’s always safer to be alone in the front than it is to be caught up in a group, because you can ride your own rhythm and it’s better than being under pressure from other teams. Winning five out of five is super good, especially at 4Islands because it’s a race where a lot of things can go wrong with the rocks.”

“It was a good race and a good week,” Alleman added. “I enjoyed it a lot! I’m happy to be back racing with Hans Erwin Becking again and to tick off some boxes. It’s nice to win also this one. So, super happy.”

To relive the action from the Croatian Kvarner islands like the 4Islands Epic Facebook page, follow @4islandsmtb on Instagram, or subscribe to the Epic Series YouTube Channel. For more information on the event, visit www.epic-series.com/4islands.

Buff Megamo

Champagne celebrations for Hans Becking and Wout Alleman. Photo by Sam Clark.

2025 4Islands Epic Results

UCI Men | Stage 4:

  1. Buff Megamo: Hans Becking & Wout Alleman (2:49:03)
  2. KTM Spada Powered by Brenta Brakes: Nicolas & Lorenzo Samparisi (2:50:13 | +1:10)
  3. KTM Spada Powered by Brenta Brakes 2: Nicholas Pettinà & Ramon Vantaggiato (2:50:14 | +1:11)
  4. Cannondale ISB Sport: Riccardo Chiarini & Martí Arán Calonja (2:50:59             | +1:56 )
  5. Klimatiza Orbea: Sebastian Gesche & Roberto Bou Martin (2:51:16 | +2:13)

UCI Women | Stage 4:

  1. Cannondale ISB Sport: Monica Calderon & Tessa Kortekaas (3:26:33)
  2. Slovak National Team: Janka Keseg Stevkova & Martina Krahulcova (3:39:17 | +12:44)
  3. Safari Essence Efficient Insure: Bianca Haw & Vera Looser (3:42:36 | +16:03)
  4. Cannondale ISB Sport 2: Costanza Fasolis & Pilar Fernández (3:43:21 | +16:48)
  5. Velo Kartell: Claudia Krenn & Nina Gunther (4:06:49 | +40:16)
4Islands Epic

The final UCI Women’s general classification podium of the 2025 4Islands Epic. Photo by Sam Clark.

4Islands Epic

The final UCI Men’s general classification podium of the 2025 4Islands Epic. Photo by Sam Clark.

UCI Men’s General Classification after Stage 4:

  1. Buff Megamo: Hans Becking & Wout Alleman (10:28:29)
  2. KTM Spada Powered by Brenta Brakes 2: Nicholas Pettinà & Ramon Vantaggiato (10:37:25 | +8:56)
  3. HEXATRI: Pierre Billaud &Théo Dupras (10:39:54 | +11:25)
  4. Klimatiza Orbea: Sebastian Gesche & Roberto Bou Martin (10:44:18 | +15:49)
  5. Singer KTM Racing: Andreas Seewald & Jakob Hartmann (10:49:37 | +21:08)

UCI Women’s General Classification after Stage 4:

  1. Cannondale ISB Sport: Monica Calderon & Tessa Kortekaas (12:55:10)
  2. Safari Essence Efficient Insure: Bianca Haw & Vera Looser (13:19:07 | +23:57)
  3. Cannondale ISB Sport 2: Costanza Fasolis & Pilar Fernández (13:24:55 | +29:45)
  4. Slovak National Team: Janka Keseg Stevkova & Martina Krahulcova (14:47:01 | +1:51:51)
  5. Velo Kartell: Claudia Krenn & Nina Gunther (14:59:33 | +2:04:23)
4Islands Epic

All the jersey winners at the 2025 4Islands Epic. Photo by Sam Clark.