South Tyrolean rider Fabian Rabensteiner (TREK-Pirelli) is not one to give up easily. In the third stage, covering 50 kilometres and 1,900 metres of elevation gain, he and Samuele Porro delivered a thrilling head-to-head battle with race leaders Nino Schurter and Lars Forster (SCOTT-SRAM), leaving the rest of the field with no chance of keeping up.
Rabensteiner won the first Swiss Epic Graubünden in 2019 together with Michele Casagrande. After the first two stages on Wednesday, he and Samuele Porro were lying in third place overall, five and a half minutes behind the leading Swiss pair. If Rabensteiner and Porro were to have any chance of claiming overall victory, they had to make their move in Arosa.
The two Italians gave everything and rode aggressively, but they were never able to open up a sufficient gap over the Swiss. On the contrary: at the end of the final climb, Schurter and Forster found the decisive extra push to pull 11 seconds clear. On the descent from Arosa Bear Sanctuary down into the village centre, the Swiss pair, widely regarded as the best descenders in the field, extended their lead to 23 seconds.
Kristian Hynek and Martin Stošek (Future Cycling Northwave) finished third on the stage, already 4:03 minutes behind, but moved up into third place overall. Rabensteiner and Porro are the new overall runners-up, while Schurter and Forster now lead the overall standings by 5:55 minutes. The previous second-placed team, Daniel Geismayr / Ben Zwiehoff (Centurion Vaude | AUT/GER), had to withdraw after Zwiehoff suffered an injury in a crash.
At the finish, Fabian Rabensteiner expressed his admiration for the Swiss pair’s performance: “There was nothing we could do against Nino and Lars today. On the final climb, they set an outrageous pace. We were completely spent, had to let them go, and on the final descent we no longer took the full risk.” Rabensteiner and Porro are still looking ahead on the final two stages, but with almost six minutes to make up, they are now almost hoping for a mechanical problem for the Swiss pair.
The women’s stage was far less contested: Annika Langvad (DEN) / Haley Batten (USA) of Team Specialized rode at the front from the very start and never left any doubt over who would win the stage. Their third stage victory gave them another ten minutes’ advantage in the overall standings.
Second on the stage were Dutch rider Sophie von Berswordt-Wallrabe and Swiss rider Jacqueline Schneebeli (jb BRUNEX), who thereby improved from sixth to fifth place overall. Germany’s Stefanie Dohrn / Elisabeth Brandau (Centurion-Vaude Radon) finished third on the day in Arosa. Langvad and Batten now lead by almost 26 minutes over the second-placed team.
Haley Batten nevertheless remains cautious: “The final two stages will be very demanding, not least because of the altitude. We now need to listen to our bodies, fuel well, and make sure we avoid any mechanical issues or crashes. In a stage race, you never know what might happen.”
Results
20 August 2020, overall standings after 3 stages
Men
- 1. Nino Schurter / Lars Forster, SCOTT-SRAM, 08:41:37
- 2. Fabian Rabensteiner / Samuele Porro, Trek-Pirelli 1, +5:55
- 3. Kristian Hynek / Martin Stošek, Future Cycling Northwave Team, +10:52
- 4. Urs Huber / Simon Stiebjahn, BULLS Heroes, +15:18
- 5. Martin Frey / Simon Schneller, BULLS Youngsters, +22:29
- 6. Andreas Seewald / Markus Kaufmann, TEXPA-SIMPLON, +24:54
- 7. Casey South / Noah Blöchlinger, BMC Fischer, +26:21
- 8. Juri Ragnoli / Cristian Cominelli, SCOTT Italy, +26:26
- 9. Fabian Giger / Jan Vastl, Maloja Pushbikers MTB Team, +30:01
- 10. Manuel Pliem / David Schöggl, KTM Pro, +45:53
Women
- 1. Annika Langvad / Haley Batten, Specialized - Racing, 10:57:33
- 2. Stefanie Dohrn / Elisabeth Brandau, Centurion-Vaude Radon, +25:44
- 3. Ariane Lüthi / Alice Pirard, Andermatt Spur, +32:34
- 4. Linda Indergand / Karla Stepanova, Maloja Pushbikers MTB, +36:12
- 5. Sophie von Berswordt-Wallrabe / Jacqueline Schneebeli, jb BRUNEX Felt Factory Team 2, +42:46
- 6. Nina Benz / Kim Ames, jb Brunex Felt Factory Team, +43:08
- 7. Corina Gantenbein / Hielke Elferink, Davos Klosters, +1:15:20
- 8. Vera Adrian / Zina Barhoumi, Scatta Ladies, +1:51:04
- 9. Alessia Nay / Franziska Brun, Liv Swiss / Cube Store Chur, +2:11:38
- 10. Thora Katrin Gunnarsdottir / Erla Sigurlaug Sigurdardottir, Red, +7:37:04
Stage results and detailed category results: www.swiss-epic.com/results/
A full race report in German and English follows.
Christian Gartmann is Communications & Media Officer for Swiss Epic Graubünden.