News: Team STÖCKLI-BiXS wins the PERSKINDOL SWISS EPIC
The Stöckli-BiXS and CENTURION VAUDE teams both became engaged in an extremely thrilling battle for the leader’s jersey during the final stage of the PERSKINDOL SWISS EPIC. Lukas Buchli and Mathias Flückiger, from Team Stöckli-BiXS, secured the win just before they reached the finish line and made it to first place on the podium in the SWISS EPIC Men’s category in Zermatt. In the women’s category, Annika Langvad and Ariane Kleinhans, from Team Specialized II, obtained the coveted PERSKINDOL SWISS EPIC championship belt. The first edition of the six-day mountain bike stage race thus came to a successful close on Saturday, after a total of 400 kilometers, including 15,000 meters of climbing at the base of the Matterhorn.
Saturday’s final stage of the PERSKINDOL SWISS EPIC six-day mountain bike stage race from Grächen to Zermatt spanned across 60 kilometers, with 2,400 meters of climbing, once again progressing on flowing single trails through high alpine scenery, surrounded by impressive 4,000-meter mountains and glaciers. With a top-quality starting field on hand, the standard for the final stage was once again extremely high and was challenging and arduous, even for the elite riders.
An exciting battle for the overall victory
After an extremely thrilling battle in the SWISS EPIC Men’s category, Team Stöckli-BiXS, consisting of Lukas Buchli and Mathias Flückiger secured the stage victory with an outstanding time of 3 h 11 min – and, in so doing, they also narrowly obtained the overall victory. In the final stage, they were able to separate themselves from Jochen Käss and Daniel Geismayr from Team CENTURION VAUDE by almost 2 minutes, and thus relegated them to second place overall by a difference of 50 seconds. The third overall position was achieved by the BMC Mountainbike Racing Team of Lukas Flückiger and Ralph Näf. “It was a hard battle from the very start,“ Lukas Buchli said concerning the day’s final result. “CENTURION VAUDE is a strong adversary and the climbs were difficult. That demanded a lot of mental work. The technically-intensive final descent was then something very familiar to us, so that we were able to obtain the decisive lead.
Since the beginning of the year, the PERSKINDOL SWISS EPIC had already been my goal for the season and I wanted to compete for victory with a strong partner. The combination of a long-distance specialist and a cross-country pro worked out well.” “It really was a long and taxing race,“ Mathias Flückiger added. “For the first time, I have experienced a stage race of this kind. Every single meter was challenging. It is a tough race with strength-draining climbs. Even for the pros. In any case, I can only say positive things about the race. So many charming trails, excellently planned routes and an outstanding organiza-tion – and all that while running a first edition of the race. Switzerland is a biking nation, a stage race like this is awesome for our sport.“
Consistency from the outset
On the women’s side, matters were much more clearly defined from the outset: Annika Langvad and Ariane Kleinhans from Team Specialized II amassed a 56-minute lead throughout the week and they thus won the golden PERSKINDOL SWISS EPIC championship belt in resounding fashion. Esther Süss and Elferink Hielke from Team Wheeler iXS took second place, and third place went to Team Mountain Heroes, featuring Andrea Kuster and Kristin Aamodt. In the Mixed category, Milena Landtwing and Bärti Bucher from Team BiXS – Wheeler obtained the gold. In the Masters category, the overall victory went to Team SCOTT ROAD, consisting of Pierre Bourquenoud and Serge Robadey.
In the SWISS EPIC FLOW racing format, Phil Meier and Florian Golay from Team CrossRoad Cycles were the clear winners in the Men’s category. As for the women, the lone team in the Women’s category, VAUDE Heavy Pedal, with Nathalie Schneitter and Alexa Hüni, obtained the title. Simon Ruchti and Monika Büchi, from Team Pivot Cycle / Specialized, claimed the Mixed category title for themselves decisively.
A top-class mountain bike adventure
With the PERSKINDOL SWISS EPIC, the first edition of a very special mountain bike adventure comes to a close. It might be one of the toughest, but also one of the most beautiful stage races in the world. With a total of 15,000 meters of climbing, it is clear that a large part of the race is decided in the many long and in parts also very technical climbs. The riders were in return rewarded daily with numerous corresponding downhill runs: countless long and gorgeous single trails offered competitors the experi-ence of flow at its very best. And then additionally, there is the unparalleled scenery of the Swiss Alps. Each individual stage offers numerous breathtaking panoramic views of the Valais Alps – an entire week for the eyes to lavishly feast on the landscape.
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