Start to perfection

Graubünden Lars Forster and Nino Schurter leave no doubt about their role as favorites and start the stage race in Graubünden with a stage win in Laax. Nevertheless, they are still taking a somewhat cautious approach to the race. After the first long climb from Laax over the Crap Sogn Gion, they are still in second place behind Daniel Geismayr and Ben Zwiehoff. "As cross-country specialists, we're not used to such long climbs," says Schurter at the finish, adding: "We didn't want to burn ourselves out too much, but we managed to keep the gap within limits."

The 2019 Cape Epic winners then put their excellent local and trail knowledge and riding skills to the test, riding over a minute clear of the Italians Fabian Rabensteiner and Samuele Porro by the finish line.

In the women's race, Sina Frei and Nicole Koller (Swiss Cycling Team) rode a strong race and led for a while. But then Sina Frei crashed twice and suffered a cut on her knee. Annika Langvad (DEN) and Haley Batten (USA) take over the lead and it stays that way. Nevertheless, the women from Zurich still ride to second place, but for Frei the Swiss Epic is already over after the first stage.

The Swiss were followed by the German Nina Benz and Kim Ames from the Swiss "jb Brunex Felt Factory Team".

Turnaround on the second stage?

The 75-kilometer stage from Laax to Arosa ends with a long climb. This played into the cards for the Czechs Kristian Hynek and Martin Stošek, and they secured the stage win ahead of Schurter and Forster.
"Towards the end of the climb, I noticed that not all the riders were able to keep up the pace," said Kristian Hynek. "We increased the pace again and were able to pull out a gap. We didn't let go of this lead," said the Czech, explaining their tactics for victory.

However, their 36-second lead was not enough to wrest the lead away from the Swiss - on the contrary. They extend their lead in the overall classification and the third stage promises to be another advantage for the Scott duo.Annika Langvad and her team colleague Haley Batten dominate the single trails on the first 50 kilometers of the second stage. In the 20-kilometre final climb, Batten then wants to distance herself from the chasing teams once and for all and symbolically bites her teeth out.At the 20-kilometer mark, the two have a one-minute lead over the emerging Linda Indergand (SUI) and Karla Stepanova (CZE). However, Batten's effort allowed the lead to increase and Langvad and Batten crossed the finish line over two minutes ahead of Elisabeth Brandau and Stefanie Dohrn. Indergand and Stepanova lose a little, but ride to third place.

Short but powerful

At 50 kilometers, the third stage is the shortest of the Swiss Epic 2020, but with 1,900 vertical meters it is anything but easy. Nino Schurter and Lars Forster fought a thrilling duel with the Italians Fabian Rabensteiner and Samuele Porro and then took their second stage win with a lead of around half a minute.

At the finish, Rabensteiner was impressed by the performance of the two Swiss riders: "There was no match for Nino and Lars today. In the last
climb they went at a horrendous pace. We were blue, had to let go and then we didn't take the full risk on the last descent."

Behind them, two more Swiss riders, Casey South and Noah Blöchlinger, put in a good performance. They only just missed out on their first podium finish, but managed to beat the experienced Urs Huber and Simon Stiebjahn.

In the women's race, there are only changes in the places of honor: no team can keep up with Denmark's Annika Langvad and America's Haley Batten. The two also won the third stage around Arosa and now lead by more than 26 minutes over the German runners-up Stefanie Dohrn and Elisabeth Brandau.

Haley Batten is cautious, despite her big lead: "The last two stages will be very tough, not least because of the altitude. We now have to listen to our bodies, eat well and make sure we don't have any technical defects or crashes. You never know what will happen in a stage race."

This time, however, others are fighting for second and third place on the stage. In the end, Sophie Von Berswordt-Wallrabe (NED) and Switzerland's Jacqueline Schneebeli took second place on the podium, while the duo Brandau/Dohrn finished third.

Nothing for free

It wasn't the strong Italians who put Forster and Schurter under pressure. On the queen stage from Arosa to Davos, it is once again the Czechs Kristian Hynek and Martin Stošek who want to give the Swiss nothing. Together with several other teams, including the overall runners-up, they put a lot of pressure on the leaders at the start.

While the high pace soon takes its toll, Schurter and Forster are able to break away on the descent from the Duranna Pass and extend their lead to 47 seconds. This gap remained constant over the final 28 kilometers - despite their best efforts, Hynek/Stošek were no longer able to put pressure on the leaders.
"It went really well today. We were able to keep up with the leading group on the first climb and then open up a gap on the descent, which we managed confidently until the finish. I'm happy about the stage win, but even happier about the extra seconds we gained in the overall classification," summarized Schurter.The queen stage in the women's field was similar to the previous days. As soon as the terrain gets a little more technical, nobody can keep up with Langvad and Batten. Only Dohrn and Brandau were able to follow them for the first 13 kilometers, but then had to let go on the Hörnli Trail.
Over the next 15 kilometers, the Specialized Racing Team continued to extend its lead until the climb to the highest point of the stage.Stefanie Dohrn and Elisabeth Brandau make up over two minutes and arrive at the culmination point 14 seconds ahead of the overall leaders. Undeterred, Langvad and Batten follow their race plan, soon regain the lead and ride to their fourth stage win in a row.

Extended once again

On the 61-kilometre final stage, Schurter sets the pace right from the start. The field of riders narrowed on the first climb and grew to four teams on the panoramic trail above Davos. In the meantime, Forster and Schurter slowed down, but once again went into overdrive when it came to pole position on the last spectacular singletrack of the Swiss Epic 2020.

On the five-kilometre-long Ischalp Trail down to Davos, the two Swiss riders once again put their downhill skills to the test. This gives them another 40 seconds and victory on the final stage.
"It's a nice victory. It's different to winning a cross-country race or even the Absa-Cape-Epic because of all the long climbs," reflects Schurter. "I'm really happy to have the victory at the Swiss Epic on my palmarès. The whole week went almost perfectly, we had no technical faults and secured four stage wins. I admit that there was a question mark at the beginning about how Lars and I would cope with these long climbs. These would now be answered."

Forster adds: "We suffered a bit on the long climbs, especially in the first two stages. Going into the race, we knew we wouldn't be the strongest there; but we were able to hold on to the best climbers each time, and then we were the fastest on the descents. The fact that we were able to play to our strengths and challenge ourselves in an area where we are not so good makes winning the Swiss Epic a special pleasure!"

With a lead of over ten minutes, Forster and Schurter underlined their dominance in the race through Graubünden. "Trek Pirelli 1" with Fabian Rabensteiner and Samuele Porro were their closest rivals on 3 of the 5 stages. "Future Cycling Northwave" secured the third and final podium place in the overall classification, although they had to settle for sixth place on the last stage. At least Kristian Hynek and Martin Stošek were able to secure a stage win.

Once again, Casey South and Noah Blöchlinger shone. Having been in the leading group for a while, they took fourth place and were the second purely Swiss team to finish in seventh place overall among well-known riders.

The Danish-American combination of Annika Langvad and Haley Batten is and remains unrivaled throughout the entire race through Graubünden and thus also wins the overall classification by 38 minutes and 19 seconds. Despite their dominance, it wasn't a boring procession, but their lead was challenged on every stage, including the last.

The 61-kilometre fifth stage again features a long climb. And this is where the Centurion Vaude Radon team, consisting of Stefanie Dohrn and Elisabeth Brandau, proved to be the strongest climbers. They reach the summit 40 seconds ahead of Langvad and Batten. However, they are unable to maintain this lead and sacrifice two places on the descent of the Panorama Trail.It is the Andermatt Spur team with Ariane Lüthi and Alice Pirard that briefly catches up with the leaders. However, Lüthi and Pirard lack the firepower to challenge Langvad and Batten. Nevertheless, the Swiss Epic ends on a conciliatory note for the Swiss-Belgian duo. Behind Langvad/Batten and Brandau/Dohrn, Lüthi and Pirard take third place overall.

"I'm very proud of our performance here at the Swiss Epic," says Langvad. "We rode smartly and regularly. We made the most of each other's strengths and that paid off. But I knew from the start that it's never over until you cross the final finish line. Today we had two flat tires, which made the day a bit more challenging and stressful. The first was a sneak that we couldn't really see right at the rim. We just stopped and pumped up the tire a few times. I then had to ride very carefully up to the first technical zone until I could change the wheel.

The exhausting final day did nothing to dampen her partner's enjoyment of the stage, and even the second puncture couldn't dampen it. "Today I tried to soak it all up," grins Batten. "To be able to share this experience and this victory with Annika and the whole team is really special. It was epic all round!"

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