Frischknecht and Stirnemann can tackle stage 5 of the Perskindol Swiss Epic 2018 with a reassuring lead of over 15 minutes on Blevins and Swenson from Team USA Red. In the women's race, Team Canada with Catharine Pendrel and Haley Smith have an even more comfortable cushion, taking a 24-minute lead over Keller and Stirnemann from Thömus RN.

The front of the peloton starts the race brilliantly and immediately sets a fast pace. A group of seven teams soon broke away and stayed together until Täsch, but the impulsive increase in pace by Christopher Blevins and Keegan Swenson from Team USA Red quickly led to larger gaps. When they passed the service station on the Fluhalp, they led Scott-SRAM by 45 seconds and Team BiXS was one minute and 50 seconds behind. "Keegan set a fast pace, fast enough to open up a gap and not too fast that we would have collapsed," says Blevins, U23 silver medalist at the World Championships.

Scott-SRAM and Team BiXS are chasing Team USA Red with the second stage win in sight. For Looser and Stauffer, there is more at stake, as their second place in the overall classification is in serious danger due to the performance of Swenson and Blevins. "We went all-in to defend second place in the overall classification, if we had suffered a flat tire, we would have finished third, but if we hadn't put everything into it, it wouldn't have been enough to defend second place," says Looser, the current Swiss marathon champion.

Despite Scott-SRAM and Team BiXS not letting up, Swenson and Blevins were able to hold on to their lead until the descent and celebrate on the home straight. Scott-SRAM followed a minute and a half later, and they knew that no one could deny them the overall victory. "We are absolutely delighted with the overall victory and it was a nice surprise to see my father at the finish line," says Andri Frischknecht - son of mountain bike icon Thomas Frischknecht.

In the women's category, nobody can stop Team Canada. Pendrel and Smith ride out a gap on the big climb. "We took it slow today but were still able to pull out a lead on Ghost Factory Racing relatively early on," said Pendrel, possibly recalling the tiredness of her rivals after the long week of racing. After Stirnemann had problems today, Anne Terpstra and Barbara Benko from Ghost Factory Racing saw their chance to take second place in the overall classification. "Anne felt better today and we were able to set a fast pace on the climb and catch up with the Canadians. Suddenly we realized that Thömus RN was having problems and that there was a chance for second place," said Benko, herself the Hungarian champion.

Catharine Pendrel and Haley Smith demonstrated their strength once again today, crossing the finish line six minutes ahead of Terpstra and Benko. Alice Pirard and Cornelia Hug from Team BikeFreak-Magazine Merida-Scott also secured their first podium finish of the week - Thömus RN lost over 21 minutes. "I had stomach problems during the race and I wasn't sure if I would make it to the finish," says the multiple cross-country world champion. Despite the bad day, they were still able to salvage third place overall.

In the other categories, spectators were treated to a Swiss festival. Florence Darbellay and Jérémy Huguenin secure the day's and overall victory in the mixed category. In the Masters category, the Danes from Cykelmagasinet with Kaare Aagaard and Thomas Nørgaard take the day's victory ahead of Dani Schnider and Oliver Imfeld from Dani Schnider Radsport, but the overall victory goes to the two Swiss riders. For Bärti Bucher and Hansjürg Gerber from BiXS / Bikeholiday.ch it is a perfect week in the Grandmasters category - they dominate again today, taking every stage win and consequently also the overall classification.

Overall classification Swiss Epic 2018

Men
1st SCOTT-SRAM MTB RACING 1-1 Matthias STIRNEMANN Switzerland 1-2 Andri FRISCHKNECHT Switzerland 16:56.25.8
2. BiXS Pro Team 2-1 Hansueli STAUFFER Switzerland 2-2 Konny LOOSER Switzerland +16.09,2
3rd Team USA Red 18-1 Christopher BLEVINS USA 18-2 Keegan SWENSON USA +18.47,4

Women
1st Team Canada 102-1 Haley SMITH Canada 102-2 Catharine PENDREL Canada 21:03.47,8
2nd GHOST FACTORY RACING 103-1 Barbara BENKO Hungary 103-2 Anne TERPSTRA Netherlands +42.48,7
3rd Thömus / RN Racing Team 101-1 Kathrin STIRNEMANN Switzerland 101-2 Alessandra KELLER Switzerland +45.19,7

Mixed
1st Fitness Maréchal 76-1 Florence DARBELLAY Switzerland 76-2 Jérémy HUGUENIN Switzerland 22:06.37,1
2. auerpower.ch 85-1 Susanne TANNER Switzerland 85-2 Norbert AMGARTEN Switzerland +51.10,9
3rd MTRX-Racing Team 77-1 Benjamin MICHAEL Germany 77-2 Hannah KÖLLING Germany +1:50.33,7

Masters
1st DANi SCHNIDER RADSPORT 121-1 Dani SCHNIDER Switzerland 121-2 Oliver IMFELD Switzerland 20:12.51,5
2nd Cykelmagasinet 155-1 Kaare AAGAARD Denmark 155-2 Thomas NØRGAARD Denmark +18.49,6
3rd Mård Racing 170-1 Hans MÅRD Sweden 170-2 Henrik MÅRD Sweden +1:04.43,7

Grand Masters
1st BiXS / Bikeholiday.ch 201-1 Bärte BUCHER Switzerland 201-2 Hansjürg GERBER Switzerland 20:51.23,7
2. wimos 211-1 Walter SCHWIZER Switzerland 211-2 Ewald STROLZ Switzerland +2:01.53,3
3rd BECHTEL-VTT MONTOZ 206-1 Michel FREI Switzerland 206-2 Pierre NEUENSCHWANDER Switzerland +4:48.51,6