Urubamba, Peru – On August 29, the IncaDivide in Urubamba, in Peru, ended. It is one of the most demanding ultra-distance cycling races, where participants traveled 1,200 km on gravel routes in nine days without external assistance and in total self-sufficiency through the Peruvian Andes. Each runner had to manage their sleeping hours, their food, how many kilometers they traveled per day and what luggage to bring. The Frenchman Pierre Rolland was the winner and the Peruvian legend Rodney Soncco was second.

First modification: 09/01/2026 - 02:24

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The IncaDivide returned after seven years of absence; Its last edition was in 2019, but after Covid-19 it was left off the calendar of BikingMan, the world ultracycling championship.

On this occasion, the queen stage of the championship returned with more than 80 cyclists who challenged themselves in the Andean mountain range, even ascending part of the Apu Ausangate, whose highest point ends at 6,372m high. In these lands, the sacred snow-capped mountains are called Apu. The return of a legendary race to celebrate 10 years of the championship.

The race began in Urubamba, the gateway to the Sacred Valley of the Incas in the Peruvian Andes, at 2,875 m high. By plane first to Cusco; You fly over mountains that seem to reach and even go higher than the clouds. In the distance you can see the mountain range with some slightly snowy peaks. Then, after an hour and a half by road, you reach this town at the foot of the snow-capped Chicón.

A prologue to test your physical condition before departure

One of the biggest difficulties was adapting to the altitude. Among the participants, several are originally from Chile, Ecuador and Peru, which makes their task a little easier. The higher you go, the more red blood cells are needed because oxygen begins to be lacking. It is also estimated that for every 1,000 meters of altitude, 10% of effort capacity is lost. Hence, the pace of the race is imposed by the mountain and not by each runner, explains Axel Carion, founder of BikingMan.

Several of the participants, especially the Europeans, arrived up to a week before departure to adapt to the altitude, but also to the Peruvian winter climate. At these altitudes, the temperature drops below zero. In this edition, the competitors even faced a snow storm that frustrated their hopes in a section of the course.

Among the participants, from nine countries around the world, six were single women, 69 men and six couples (two mixed and four male). An extensive list in which amateur athletes were mixed with former professional cyclists, such as Pierre Rolland, a 39-year-old retired French rider and winner of two stages of the Tour de France, or Edwige Pitel, 59 years old and an emblematic figure of French road cycling.

This is the first time that Rolland took on the Andes, but not a BikingMan stage, because at the end of last March he was proclaimed winner of the Serra Geral test, in Brazil.

Taking into account the sacred importance of these mountains, a ceremony was organized by a shaman from Ollataytambo. A way to ask the Apus for permission and also protect the runners.

For the first time, a 110 km prologue was included in this race to complete the adaptation of the runners. There is no timer, but upon arrival they had to fill out a questionnaire about how they felt and take a blood oxygen level measurement. If the saturation was below 90, they could not go out for the test.

The organization had a strict safety protocol to prevent cyclists from getting sick due to the altitude. To do this, they had two hyperbaric chambers that allow, if necessary, to put a person in a kind of box where they breathe pure oxygen.

There was also a restricted passage area, just before ascending to about 5,200 meters high, passing through Apu Ausangate. You could only go there from 3 am to 10 am.

The mountain imposed the pace of the race

The beginning: it was five in the morning on August 20, a freezing morning; The runners slept little. They arrived up to an hour before departure to verify the installation of a 'tracker' that allows them to know in real time where they are on the route.

The start was given with the sound of a bell and thus began this long-awaited edition of the IncaDivide. From the first ascent to 4,300 meters, difficulties began for the ultracyclists who suffered from the cold, but once they reached the top, there were very emotional moments because being there is an achievement. They took some photos and returned. It was an arduous day, with a descent of almost 100 kilometers that began with snow-capped mountains and ended in Ocobamba, in the Peruvian Amazon region. Changes in height and temperature and many punctures from that 100% gravel descent, with stones, water and mosquitoes.

The summit of this competition was the Nevado Ausangate and reaching 5,200 meters, a majestic giant that imposed fear, dressed in white and that tested the lungs and capabilities of the ultracyclists.

The first to pass through there was the Frenchman Pierre Rolland, who found slopes full of snow and ice, very cold, but a landscape that left him stupefied. Then the Frenchmen Gregory Cassini and Laurianne Levasseur, each BikingMan champions in previous years, as well as Franck Pencole, passed by.

But the mountains had other plans. An alert was received of heavy snowfall, dangerous weather conditions. The organization of the competition had no other option but to modify the route and eliminate the passage through Ausangate. Only seven ultracyclists were able to make the expected ascent.

There was some frustration among the runners, also sadness and regret because they missed a unique landscape and it detracted from the experience. But the majority understood that it was the best in terms of safety, since some of those who crossed the summit took up to 10 hours to complete the step in extreme conditions.

The descent of Ausangate also gave a lot to talk about for the few who passed through there. The landscapes were of lunar desert, snowy mountains, black earth, starry sky, icy wind and not a single soul miles around.

There was still much to see and climb, especially that last climb before the lake region, inhabited by alpacas, llamas and pink flamingos. That section was one of the most difficult because snow and rain fell and the cold left the ultracyclists' worn-out bodies shivering.

The French runner Benjamin Bodot told how a resident saw him in such bad condition that he took him to a hotel he knew; There they put a thick blanket over his shoulders, gave him a mate and sat him in front of the fire. He lasted more than fifteen minutes shivering from the cold and crying.

Pierre Rolland, winner; Peruvian legend Rodney Soncco was second

Victory was finally played between the man everyone talked about and everyone feared, the Peruvian Rodney Soncco, 37, and the Frenchman Pierre Rolland. The native of Urubamba made a comeback to frame and try to catch up with Pierre Rolland, who stopped for only about three hours to sleep before facing the last part of the race from Pomacanchi lagoon to Cusco and then descending to the finish line. Soncco told France 24 that he had decided not to sleep for 380 km.

However, the Frenchman took the victory with a time of 83 hours and a face deeply marked by the effort. Soncco was second, with 85h55, and Gregory Cassini, third, with 92H. The first woman to cross the finish line was Laurianne Levasseur, in a time of 97h45, occupying fifth place overall.

Among the top ten overall were three Latin Americans, two Peruvians and one Ecuadorian. Among the more than 80 participants, 17 did not finish the race, either due to fatigue, health problems or even accidents on the road.

The varied landscapes, the difficulty of the routes, mostly uncovered, as well as the cold left their mark on the participants, who are waiting for a new adventure to be announced. For now, the BikingMan organization has not announced what the queen stage of the championship will be for next year. There is one more race left on the calendar, the BikingMan Brazil, in the Serra Geral region, which starts on October 5.

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