The BiXS Pro Team with Swiss riders Konny Looser and Oliver Zurbrügg is again the second team to arrive in Zermatt today, albeit nine minutes behind the stage winners. The Austrian Christoph Soukup and the Swiss Michael Stünzi from Team Texpa-Simplon are again third. In the overall classification, the "eternal runners-up" from Team Centurion-Vaude, who have always finished in second place in the last three years, now have a lead of over 15 minutes and therefore have overall victory within their grasp tomorrow. Now it is up to the German-Austrian duo to get through the race without any defects. The battle for second place remains exciting: the BiXS Pro Team still only has a lead of around three minutes over Texpa-Simplon. So a change should still be possible.

In the women's race, Switzerland's Esther Süss and Sweden's Jennie Stenerhag, Team Meerendal-CBC, are able to play to their strengths on the climbs again today. They take the stage win in 5:07.00 hours ahead of Team Spur-Wallonie with Switzerland's Ariane Lüthi and Belgium's Alice Pirard. Team Meerendal-CBC now leads the overall classification by a good 18 minutes, meaning that Esther Süss is now also very close to her first Perskindol Swiss Epic victory after finishing second in 2014 and third in 2016. The tension is therefore mounting for tomorrow's big showdown on the final stage in front of the Matterhorn. The first finishers in Zermatt are expected from around 11 am.

The old story

The men's classification in the flow race is almost frozen. Frans Claes and Michiel van Aelbroeck won there for the fifth time and should also emerge as winners on the final stage, provided the two Belgians get through without a major defect. In the overall standings, the two are now well over an hour ahead of René Wildhaber and Alex Fiva, who are also in second place today. Philipp Imdorf and Roman Rohrer are again in third place.

Yesterday's winners in the Women & Mixed category also win today and now the two Australians John Laughlin and Jodie Willett have also taken the overall lead. However, today's runners-up, Tim Jacobs and Kristien Achten, are only 27 seconds behind in the overall classification. The battle for overall victory between the two teams is therefore likely to be very exciting. Felix Schäfermeier and Cristina Dähler are back in third place. In the overall classification, the German-Swiss pairing go into the final stage in Zermatt with an eleven-minute lead over the first all-women team, Gehrig-Twins - Ibis Cycles Enduro Team.

Full results stage 4