Swiss Casey South and Noah Blöchlinger won the third stage of the Swiss Epic in Grisons and are now second overall. Overall leaders Michele Casagrande and Fabian Rabensteiner finished second in the stage. As on the previous day, the Germans Adelheid Morath and Bettina Janas won the women; Corina Gantenbein and Kathrin Stirnemann were only able to barely defend the overall lead.
The two-pass trip from St. Moritz to Lenzerheide brought life into the class elements on the third day of the Swiss Epic mountain bike in Grisons. The Italian leaders Casagrande/Rabensteiner (Trek Selle San Marco A) were able to keep up in the lead until just before Lenzerheide, but then had to admit defeat by the irresistibly revolving Casey South and Noah Blöchlinger (jb BRUNEX/Fischer BMC) and lost 35 seconds. In the overall standings, they still have an advantage of 5 minutes 29 over the Swiss.
“In the end, we were simply tired,” Michele Casagrande freely admitted in Lenzerheide. With his partner Fabian Rabensteiner, he had controlled the field from the front. South and Blöchlinger were their hardest adversaries. “Even on the climb to Albula, we were able to pick up the pace with the Italians and gain a small advantage,” said a satisfied Blöchlinger at the finish line.
“Cowboy” Blöchlinger
The descent from the Albula Pass to Bergün was a tough one: The leaders were involved in minor falls and had to let two more teams catch up. Shortly before Preda, they were also joined by a smaller herd of cattle and blocked the trail. Blöchlinger became a “cowboy”; it was up to him to drive the animals and find a safe way back onto the trail.
Among women, the first overall Corina Gantenbein and Kathrin Stirnemann (Shimano S-Phyre) experienced real ups and downs. On the ascent to the Albula Pass, they were two and a half minutes behind.
On the trails down to Tiefencastel, they overtook the two teams ahead of them again and achieved an advantage of almost a minute. “We had lots of fun downhill,” said Corina Gantenbein. However, Kathrin Stirnemann in particular was no longer able to keep up with the climb to Lenzerheide. The two were five and a half minutes behind the finish line - and still eleven seconds ahead of the overall standings.
As on the previous day, the stage went to the Germans Adelheid Morath and Bettina Janas (KS TREK - Sportograf).
The fourth stage on Friday covers 48 kilometers and 2,150 meters of altitude difference on both sides of the valley around Lenzerheide. The start is at 8:30 a.m.; the race can be held via www.swiss-epic.com be followed live.