Tomer Kaspi and Tomer Salzman Win Winner Epic Israel 2026
The Winner Epic Israel 2026 mountain bike race concluded in the Western Galilee, marking its emotional return to the north for the first time since the war.
Epic Israel 2026 Returns to the North
The Winner Epic Israel 2026 mountain bike race concluded in the Western Galilee, with Tomer Kaspi and Tomer Salzman capturing first place in the overall general classification. Held for the 11th year in memory of the late Giora Tzahor, the race returned to the north for the first time since the outbreak of the war, following three years when trails and vast areas in the region were closed to the public.
Over four days of competition across the Mateh Asher Regional Council and Nahariya, 500 riders tackled challenging off-road tracks. Kaspi and Salzman, riding for Tomer's, secured the championship after completing three days of racing with a cumulative time of 9:52:12 hours.
Champions Across Categories
In the women's category, Luba Bernstein and Helen Mura of the Helen & Luba 2026 team claimed victory with a cumulative time of 15:18:47 hours. In the men's masters category, Noam Strasnov and Yuval Friedman of NYCC SPECIALIZED finished first with a time of 11:08:49 hours, while the mixed category was won by Abigail Louis Yabetz and Shahar Tamir of The Buttons - MIX in 12:30:58 hours.
Race founder and producer Gal Tzahor stated:
Seeing hundreds of riders cross the finish line here in the Western Galilee, after three years of being unable to return to the area, is a particularly emotional moment for me. This year the race was much more than a bicycle competition; we returned to trails that were closed, forests that underwent rehabilitation, and a region we all love so much.
The return of the race was facilitated by rehabilitation and upgrade efforts led by KKL-JNF, restoring hundreds of kilometers of riding trails in areas such as Hanita, Cabri, Yechiam, and Matzuva.
