Bottas has become a serious gravel competitor in recent years and qualified for the 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships earlier this season. Joining him on the start line is Australian Olympian and two-time national gravel champion Tiffany Cromwell, who has several UCI Gravel World Series victories to her name.

In the main distance of 123 km, Lukas Malezsewski from Belgium will be among the favourites in the men’s race. The 2025 Alentejo Gravel Race winner arrives in Estonia fresh from a second-place finish at the UCI Gravel World Series round in Wales, held earlier this month. Hi will be challenged by a former WorldTour rider Harry Tanfield from Great Britain, German Anton Albrecht, who won a World Series race in Poland in June, and Norwegian Simen Nordahl Svendsen, an experienced long-distance gravel rider.

The international stars will face strong competition from Estonian Gert Kivistik, who has taken the race victory twice - in 2021 and 2024; and other fast riders from Estonia as well as Latvia.

First held in 1998, Tartu Bike Marathon has grown into the largest off-road cycling events in the Baltic region. The event hosted the European Mountain Bike Marathon Championships in 2009, but 2026 marks its debut in the UCI Gravel World Series.

South Estonia is set for an exciting day of racing this Saturday! The 123 km and 83 km races are UCI Gravel World Series qualifiers, with 39 km and 21 km distances and kids’ races also on the programme. Up to 4,000 riders and around 1,500 children are expected to take part.

123 km start list is available HERE, additional race info HERE