Following yesterday’s longest daily stage, which stretched from Verbier to Leukerbad, today was the day for PERSKINDOL SWISS EPIC to embark on the second, somewhat-more-moderate-yet-no-less-thrilling daily stage: a 69-kilometre-long circuit beginning and ending in Leukerbad, containing an elevation gain of 2,750 metres.

PERSKINDOL SWISS EPIC_STAGE2_walk section_Credit_Apix Naef

The CENTAURION VAUDE team were the day’s winners: Daniel Geismayr and Jochen Käss. And in the women’s event, Annika Langvad and Ariane Kleinhans from the team Specialized II came out on top once again.

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The second stage of the six-day PERSKINDOL SWISS EPIC mountain bike race consisted of a circuit covering 69 kilometres, containing an elevation gain of 2,750 metres; beginning and ending in Leukerbad. The route and its panoramic views were simply spectacular. It began with an adrenalin-filled walk up a path carved out of the rock face of the Daubenhorn, and then went on to one of the largest pine woods in the Alps, the Pfynwald in the Rhône valley, before finally ending up at the 134-metre-long Illgraben-Bhutan hanging bridge. This was followed by a 1,500-metre-long ascent, the longest part of the route, back to Leukerbad.

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Team Stöckli-BiXS defends its title

Those in the SWISS EPIC Men category moved just as quickly today as they did yesterday. Clocking up a time of 3 h 24 min, the CENTAURION VAUDE team, made up of Daniel Geismayr and Jochen Käss, were the day’s champions. Lukas Buchli and Mathias Flückiger, or team Stöckli-BiXS, came in second and were thus able to just about defend their position. Nino Schurter and Florian Vogel, team SCOTT-Odlo, came in third. In the SWISS EPIC Women category, Annika Langvad and Ariane Kleinhans from the Specialized II team admirably defended their standing with a time of 4 h 18 min, once again followed by Esther Süss and Elferink Hielke, team Wheeler iXS, and team Mountain Heroes with Andrea Kuster and Kristin Aamodt. In the Mixed category, Bärti Bucher and Milena Landtwing maintained a clear lead – the same can be said of Serge Robadey and Pierre Bourquenoud in the Masters category. All the leaders to date were also able to hold onto their positions in the SWISS EPIC FLOW race format.

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For a complete rundown of the rankings, please consult: http://services.datasport.com/2014/mtb/swissepic/etappe2/default.htm

Trails exceed expectations

Today’s stage was also well received amongst all participants. ‘This was probably one of the most beautiful trails we’ve ever been on! And it just kept going, right down to the bottom of the valley,’ said Benno Sprecher and Roni Amsutz from team Brino, all smiles. This was confirmed by South Africans Oliver Munnik and David Leimann of media team Bicycling SA: ‘The trails have exceeded all our expectations! There are sure to be many more people from South Africa taking part next year!’

The third stage of PERSKINDOL SWISS EPIC, which will take place tomorrow, will go from Leukerbad to Grächen, covering a distance of 61 kilometres and containing an elevation gain of 3,000 metres. The first riders are expected to start crossing the finish line around noon

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