Stauffer and Weinbeer take the overall Bike Marathon Classics victories

The triumph of Alexandre Balmer at the Iron Bike Race, who had registered at short notice, helped Hansueli Stauffer in his last elite race on Swiss soil. The man from Sigiriswil secured second place and thus overall victory in the Bike Marathon Classics for the second time. In the women's race, runner-up Anna Weinbeer also claimed overall victory by winning the final. Swiss champion Irina Lützelschwab came second.

The starting position before the final race at the Iron Bike Race in Einsiedeln was more exciting than ever before. Bike Marathon Classics leader Frans Claes (Be) was tied on points with Hansueli Stauffer at the top of the interim standings. Just four points behind him, European champion Andreas Seewald (Germany) was waiting for his chance. Even fourth-placed Martin Fanger - last year's overall winner - still had a very real chance of overall victory, 58 points behind the leader, as victory in Einsiedeln gives 250 points.

Alexandre Balmer as a wild card

The late entry of Alexandre Balmer from Romandy, however, mixed up the calculations somewhat at the end. While the Belgian leader Claes pulled in a "jour sans" and lost contact with the leading group early on, a quartet of Balmer, Fanger, Seewald and Stauffer fought for the final victory until the last climb. Balmer then attacked and was able to pull away easily. Stauffer fought his way into second place ahead of Fanger and Seewald. Fourth place allowed European champion Seewald to move up to second place in the final classification ahead of Claes, who finished seventh behind Fadri Barandun and Fabian Heinzer.

"My tactics worked out perfectly. I stepped up the pace on the last climb and nobody followed me. I then rode the slippery final descent with a measured risk," explained winner Balmer. Second-placed Stauffer admitted: "In the end, I no longer rode for victory, but focused my tactics on Martin Fanger. I really wanted to finish ahead of both of them so as not to jeopardize my overall victory. I managed to do that and that's why I'm not dissatisfied with second place."

Both Seewald and Claes complained of a certain tiredness and lack of strength and put this down to the length of the season and the numerous competitions they had ridden in. Claes also said: "The slippery track conditions didn't suit me at all. I crashed three times." The marathon specialist, who lives in Gunten, does not yet know how he will continue with the sport next year.

In the women's race, Anna Weinbeer once again rode in her own category. She distanced second-placed Irina Lützelschwab by 32 minutes and thus also secured the final classification. Milena Kalasova from the Czech Republic crossed the finish line in third place. As a result, runner-up Weinbeer also secured the overall classification of the Bike Marathon Classics ahead of Lützelschwab and last year's winner Alessia Nay, who had to withdraw due to injury.

"Abnormal course conditions"

"The course conditions were abnormal. The meadow sections in particular were very energy-sapping and super slippery. I'm glad it didn't rain even more," said Weinbeer. However, she was very satisfied with her performance and also with the overall victory in the Classics. She will remain loyal to the sport of marathons in the coming year. Not so Lützelschwab, who will shift her focus to gravel racing in 2026. She explained: "It's just more fun to ride in a field with other competitors. In the marathon, she often competes largely on her own."

In the Fun Men, leader Andreas Plüss also took the overall title with his victory in the final, ahead of Marcel Berbalk and Urs Kropf. The latter had overtaken Marc Marguet on the podium in Einsiedeln.

In the middle distance, there was a change of leader in the final. Sascha Deplazes, who had led for a long time, was narrowly beaten by the much younger Nathan Chiffelle from France. Third place went to Guillaume Stettler.

In the women's race, leader Elodie Python confidently won both the final run and the final classification. Ursina Condrau came second ahead of Roxane Cutilla.