The Swiss Epic is a 5 day mountain bike stage race in the Graubünden region of Switzerland. For 2019, there are 287 teams of 2 riders, in various categories – from pro to amateur, with male, female and mixed pairs. Over 5 days they will ride a huge loop of 347km on the best high alpine trails of Davos, St. Moritz and Lenzerheide, with almost 12,000 metres of climbing and descending along the way.
Stage 1 – Davos to St. Moritz (86km, 2800m ascent)
With heavy rain overnight, the course was wet and muddy. Flooding meant the first stage had to be re-routed.
After 3h45m, the first pair across the finish line were Casagrande and Rabensteiner (Trek Selle San Marco A) in the UCI Men’s category. Just 0.3 seconds ahead of their team mates Porro and Ferraro.
In the women’s race, the lead changed a few times during the stage with Pirard & Dohrn (Centurion Vaude) leading early on. But at the end, Gantenbein and Stirnemann (Shimano S-Phyre) won by just 37sec ahead of Lüthi & Sheppard (Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy)
Stage 2 – St. Moritz (69km, 2250m ascent)
Racers had a cold start to stage 2, with high mountain passes still shrouded in mist, but the rain stayed away and temperatures started rising.
The circular route took riders around St. Moritz. With the first 40km being relatively flat, then climbing 800m in just 12km up to 2543m with panoramic views of Piz Palü, Piz Bernina and the Engadine. Riders will reach the Laj Alv natural reservoir before the flowing descent on the historic St. Moritz’s Ski World Cup racetrack.
In the UCI Men’s race, Casagrande and Rabensteiner (Trek Selle San Marco A) took another win with a sprint finish, extending their lead to just over 3mins ahead of teammates Porro and Ferraro (Trek Selle San Marco B)
In the UCI Women’s category, it was another close battle with 4 teams fighting for the win. Morath and Janas (KS Trek – Sportograf) came back from a disappointing first day to win Stage 2. But Gantenbein and Stirnemann (Shimano S-Phyre girls) kept a steady pace for 2nd and extended their overall lead to 3min 52sec.
Stage 3 – St. Moritz to Lenzerheide (80km, 2200m ascent)
The hard work started early with a tough climb up the Albula Pass, reaching the highest point at 2312m. This was followed by long descents to Bergun and Filisur, finishing with parts of the 2018 World Championship XC track.
On more technical terrain, the UCI Mens race had a new stage winner – South and Blöchlinger (jb BRUNEX / Fischer BMC). But Casagrande and Rabensteiner (Trek Selle San Marco A) kept hold of the overall lead with a gap of 5min 28sec.
Porro and Ferraro (Trek Selle San Marco B) had mechanical problems and slipped down to sixth. While team Devonbosch Stellenbosch lost over an hour and dropped out of the top ten entirely. This allowed Stünzi and Stutzmann (Texpa Simplon) and Geismayr and Dorn (Centurion Vaude) to move into the top 5 overall.
Morath and Janas (KS Trek – Sportograf) took another stage win in the UCI Women’s race, almost 2 mins ahead of Pirard and Dohrn (Centurion Vaude 2). Gantenbein and Stirnemann (Shimano S-Phyre girls) ended up in 4th but managed to just stay ahead in the overall.
Stage 4 – Lenzerheide (48km, 2150m ascent)
A short but tough loop in the Lenzerheide region, with two big climbs on opposite sides of the valley, first to the Charmoin middle station, and later the Alp Stätz. Finishing with a fast descent to the Heidsee lake. The weather was good and riders enjoyed the technical singletrack.
Porro and Ferraro (Trek Selle San Marco B) made a comeback in the UCI mens race and won the stage ahead of their teammates Casagrande and Rabensteiner who extended their overall lead to 8min 27sec.
In the UCI women’s race, Morath and Janas (KS Trek – Sportograf) kept on charging with their 3rd stage win, 3mins 7sec ahead of Lüthi and Sheppard. It’s all down to the last day for Morath and Janas having just 13sec overall advantage over Pirard and Dohrn. Early leaders Gantenbein and Stirnemann slipped back to 3rd in the overall.
Stage 5 – Lenzerheide to Davos (64km, 2350m ascent)
Finally the riders returned to Davos with a mix of amazing riding – pristine single track through a spruce forest at the foot of the Lenzerhorn, rocky mountain passes, bike park trails and amazing views.
The day started cool and foggy, but the sun soon came through. Riders would need to keep some energy for the biggest climb towards the end of the stage, before a flowing trail into the Sertig Valley drops back towards Davos for the finish.
In the UCI Men’s race, Claes and Nissen (Devonbosch Stellenbosch) broke away early and took the stage win by 1min 24sec over South and Blöchlinger (jb BRUNEX / Fischer BMC). Geismayr and Dorn took 3rd.
Casagrande and Rabensteiner (Trek Selle San Marco A) raced a smart stage for 4th and retained a solid overall lead of 13mins 35sec over South and Blöchlinger for the Swiss Epic title.
In the UCI women’s race, Morath and Janas (KS TREK – Sportograf) took an early lead and continued their dominant form for a 4th stage win, 2min 12sec ahead of Ariane Lüthi & Samara Sheppard.
This was enough to give Morath and Janas the overall win, 4min 9sec ahead of their closest rivals Pirard and Dohrn (Centurion Vaude).
UCI Men – Overall Results
- Michele Casagrande & Fabian Rabensteiner (Trek Selle San Marco A) 16h 6m 46,9s
- Casey South & Noah Blöchlinger (jb BRUNEX / Fischer BMC) +13m 35,1s
- Michael Stünzi & Marc Stutzmann (Texpa Simplon) +20m 4,0s
UCI Women – Overall Results
- Adelheid Morath & Bettina Janas (KS TREK – Sportograf) 20h 36m 27,5s
- Alice Pirard & Stefanie Dohrn (Centurion Vaude 2) +4m 9,6s
- Ariane Lüthi & Samara Sheppard (Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy) +4m 47,2s
