Fabian Rabensteiner and Michele Casagrande win the first Swiss Epic in Graubünden. The Italians won the first stage and did not give up the leader's shirt anymore. The women's winners were the Germans Adelheid Morath and Bettina Janas, who won four of the five stages. For the first Swiss Epic in Graubünden, Grisons's six leading mountain bike destinations came together for the first time.
From Tuesday to Saturday, almost 600 participants in teams of two took part in the Swiss Epic Graubünden stage race over 350 kilometers and 12,000 meters of altitude difference between Davos, St. Moritz and Lenzerheide. The overall victory of the Italian team Trek Selle San Marco A was no surprise in the end: Fabian Rabensteiner and Michele Casagrande had held the lead in the overall standings since day one and a half and had started the final stage with an advantage of eight and a half minutes.
Two Swiss teams finished on the podium behind the Italians: Hallinger Casey South and Gossauer Noah Blöchlinger (jb BRUNEX/Fischer BMC) were second, Michael Stünzi and Marc Stutzmann (Texpa Simplon) third.
The women's starting position before the last day was more exciting: Adelheid Morath and Bettina Janas (KS Trek/Sportograf) had made it to the overall lead with victory in the penultimate stage, but only by 13 seconds ahead.
They could no longer expect an overall victory after the first day: In the first stage, Bettina Janas had severe stomach problems and the duo crossed the finish line more than 17 minutes behind. From the second day on, however, they didn't let anything burn and won all stages. Your overall victory is more than deserved.
Thun Ariane Lüthi, who lives in South Africa, was the best Swiss together with her New Zealand teammate Samara Sheppard in 3rd place. “We had set ourselves the podium and are very happy with it,” said Lüthi at the finish line. “As a homesick Swiss woman, I really enjoyed driving in our mountains. Swiss Epic in Graubünden was cordially and very well organized.”
“Graubünden offered great trails and perfect organization”
The three stage locations and the organizer of the first Swiss Epic in Grisons had placed great value on scenic and technically demanding, but not too difficult trails. The top riders also really appreciated this: “The area is super beautiful and the trails fantastic,” enthused German overall winner Adelheid Morath. Overall South Tyrolean winner Fabian Rabensteiner agreed with her: “This is one of the most beautiful races in the Alps. Graubünden offered us great trails and everything was perfectly organized. I can only congratulate the organizers!”
Organizers and tourism professionals alike are delighted with the praise from the participants: Reto Branschi, tourism CEO of Davos Klosters, brought the event to Grisons and established a partnership of six Graubünden destinations. “Our expectations were met. Participants came from 42 countries and I only see happy faces,” he said at the finish line in Davos. “This first Swiss Epic has already shown that the leading Graubünden destinations can do something together and thus achieve a great deal. I'm already looking forward to the next four issues!”
2020 from Laax via Arosa to Davos
At the first Swiss Epic in Grisons, almost 600 mountain bikers drove in teams of two over trails and passes between Davos, St. Moritz and Lenzerheide from Tuesday to Saturday. The second Swiss Epic in Graubünden will take place from August 18 to 22, 2020 and will take you from Laax via Arosa to Davos. The six partner towns of Arosa, Davos, Laax, Lenzerheide, Scuol and St. Moritz alternate as stages from year to year.
Link to all results: www.epic-series.app/swissepic/results
Christian Gartmann is the communications and media representative for Swiss Epic in Graubünden and its six Graubünden stages.