In contrast to the first stage, the leading teams pushed the pace right from the start in Imst. The German-Austrian duo Hannes Genze and Daniel Geismayr were unable to keep up the pace and were 1:45 minutes behind the four-man leading group of Lakata/Hynek and Kaufmann/Käss on the climb to Pfundser Tschey, the second of three ascents. On the descent to Pfunds, however, the two of them stepped on the gas and reduced the gap. On the ascent to Norbertshöhe, the final mountain, the German-Austrian team closed the gap to put on the final sprint towards the end and win the mountain finish.

The Austrian-Czech duo of Alban Lakata and Kristian Hynek were only six seconds behind, fourteen seconds behind Kaufmann and Käss, who took the overall lead. The German-Swiss duo Karl Platt and Urs Huber had to relinquish their lead after Platt almost cooled down. However, with a five-minute gap in the stage, the overall victory has not yet been decided. There are still five more stages to go.

Lukas Buchli and Konny Looser are also some way behind. "It's difficult to say at the moment what my problem is. Cold, wet weather is not one of my strengths. But I don't know if that's the only reason for my current performance," puzzles Looser. A small consolation for Buchli and Looser; thanks to their great fighting spirit, the two finished fifth in the stage and are in the same position in the overall classification.

Results Men

Change in the women's lead

The bad weather stage over 87 kilometers from Imst to Nauders seems to suit the two Swiss women. Cornelia Hug and Andrea Fässler take over five minutes off the wearers of the leader's jerseys Silke Schrattenecker and Barbara Mayer. The two Swiss women thus took the lead. "It was tough, but we're really happy," says Fässler. For Barbara Liardet, the Transalp continues on a less pleasant note. Still in third place after the first stage with her team partner Stéphanie Gutknecht, Liardet abandoned the Transalp due to hypothermia.

The weather won't be any better for the third stage from Nauders to Naturns. However, the participants will have the pleasure of riding numerous South Tyrolean trails over the 100 kilometers. 3,365 vertical meters have to be climbed, but almost 900 vertical meters are added downhill.