Seewald wins the XCM World Championships on a 32-inch KTM, while a puncture ruins David Valero’s chances

Andreas Seewald has been crowned the world champion of XC Marathon 2026 in Fiera di Primiero, Italy. The German attacked before the halfway point of the 95 kilometers and completed much of the race solo, in which Italy occupied four of the top five positions. Moreover, his victory leaves a historic fact for MTB: it is the first World Championship won with a bike equipped with 32-inch wheels. Seewald achieved this on the KTM dual suspension prototype that we had already seen in competition.

For David Valero, one of the top favorites for the rainbow jersey, the World Championship was practically conditioned right from the start. A flat tire on the first climb forced him to stop and fix it himself, losing a huge amount of time before starting a comeback that would last for the rest of the race.

Seewald is world champion of XCM again after five years and makes history for the 32"

The XC Marathon World Championship 2026 featured 95 kilometers and 4,000 meters of positive elevation around Fiera di Primiero and San Martino di Castrozza. A particularly demanding course that started at 9:00 AM with 121 riders in the elite men's category.

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David Valero arrived as one of the main medal contenders. The rider from Granada focused his season on XCM and came to Italy as the reigning European champion after finishing fourth in the 2025 World Championship. But his chances practically disappeared in the early stages.

A flat tire on the first climb ruins David Valero's World Championship

Valero suffered a flat tire practically at the start, during the first climb. The Spaniard had to stop and take care of the repair himself, a particularly costly incident at a moment in the race when the group was still moving at high speed.

When he managed to get back on track, the leaders were already far ahead. At the assistance zone in San Martino di Castrozza, located around kilometer 21, his delay was already around half an hour.

From there, his World Championship turned into a long comeback. Valero had to regain positions for practically the entire race, but the difference accumulated in the first kilometers made it impossible to re-enter the fight for the medals.

An especially tough outcome after arriving in Italy at one of the best moments of his season and with real chances of improving the fourth place achieved a year earlier.

Andreas Seewald breaks the race on the way to Forcella Calaita

While Valero tried to make up ground, a large group initially formed at the front, including Keegan Swenson, Jordan Sarrou, Andreas Seewald, and Martin Fanger.

The decisive move came on the way to Forcella Calaita, at 1,639 meters above sea level. Seewald managed to break away, and by kilometer 43, he was riding solo.

Behind him, a chase group formed with Swenson, Tristan Nortje, Wout Alleman, and Sarrou, along with Italians Diego Rosa, Jakob Dorigoni, and Gioele De Cosmo. But none managed to neutralize the German.

Seewald maintained his lead during the second half of the course while Italy took advantage of their numerical superiority to intensify the chase. On the climb towards Bedolè, the Italians once again selected the group, leaving De Cosmo, Dorigoni, and Rosa as the main pursuers.

The German already had enough of a margin and finished alone in Fiera di Primiero with a time of 4:33:47. It was his second XCM world title after the one he won in Capoliveri in 2021, also in Italy.

Behind Seewald, there was an extraordinary collective result for the Italian team. Gioele De Cosmo was second at 3:11 and Jakob Dorigoni third at 3:12, while Diego Rosa and Davide Foccoli completed the top five positions.

Italy finished with six riders in the Top 10, but could not convert their numerical superiority into the world title.

Top 10 XCM World Championship 2026 men's

1. Andreas Seewald (Germany) — 4:33:47
2. Gioele De Cosmo (Italy) — +3:11
3. Jakob Dorigoni (Italy) — +3:12
4. Diego Rosa (Italy) — +3:55
5. Davide Foccoli (Italy) — +4:40
6. Martin Stoček (Czech Republic) — +6:10
7. Keegan Swenson (United States) — +7:22
8. Dario Cherchi (Italy) — +7:43
9. Héctor Leonardo Páez (Colombia) — +9:21
10. Lorenzo Samparisi (Italy) — +9:43

The first 32" bike to win an XCM World Championship

Seewald's victory also marks a milestone for one of the technical trends that is currently generating the most excitement in MTB. The German won the World Championship on the KTM dual suspension prototype with 32-inch wheels that the brand has been testing in competition.

We already talked about this 32" KTM after seeing it compete in the Swiss Epic. At that time, it was still one of the most striking projects around this new wheel diameter. Now it has just achieved the best possible sports validation.

Seewald thus becomes the first rider to win a World Championship with 32-inch wheels.

The result is particularly relevant because XC Marathon is precisely one of the terrains where 32" could find the most arguments in their favor. On fast and long-distance courses, their larger diameter aims to improve the ability to overcome obstacles and maintain speed, although it poses new challenges in aspects such as weight, geometry, and the overall design of the bike.

KTM is still developing this dual suspension as a prototype, but can already boast of having achieved a rainbow jersey with it.

The World Championship thus concludes with Seewald reclaiming the rainbow jersey after five years and giving 32" its first XCM world title. For David Valero, the race was marked from the first climb by a flat tire that forced him to forget about the medals and spend the rest of the day making a comeback.