On Tuesday 18 August the 2019 Swiss Epic started under grey skies in Davos. Five days later and the Graubünden Canton was showing off its best summer weather as the race returned to Davos. Having traversed alpine passes and valleys, between the towns of St. Moritz and Lenzerheide, on its way back to the start venue it showcased the some of the best mountain biking Switzerland has to offer.

At the sharp end of the race the UCI men’s and women’s champions were crowned on Saturday, 24 August. The men’s champions, Trek Selle San Marco A’s Michele Casagrande and Fabian Rabensteiner, led from start to finish; never relinquishing their grip on the yellow leaders’ jerseys. “It was fantastic to cross the finish line with the other team [their Trek Selle San Marco stablemates Porro and Ferraro] today. It was such a nice race and it feels great to have won” Rabensteiner stated.

The women’s race served up more drama. Stage 1 was won by the Shimano S-Phyre team of Corina Gantenbein and Kathrin Stirnemann. They held the leaders’ orange jerseys until the conclusion of Stage 4, when KS TREK – Sportograf’s run of consecutive stage wins set them atop the leader board. Adelheid Morath and Bettina Janas started the final stage with a slender 13 second advantage. Rather than letting the pressure get to them they stormed to their fourth successive stage victory. “We focused on ourselves and followed our own rhythm. We tried not to go over our limit, not get too nervous and keep cool. That was the key to today’s victory” Janas recounted.

In the mixed category there was a final day disaster for the leaders, MarathonMTB.com. Imogen Smith and Mike Blewitt had led from the opening day, but a crash put Smith out of the race. That promoted the Norwegian Team VeloCity combination into the category’s green jerseys on the final podium. In the absence of Smith and Blewitt; Anders Seim and Synne Steinsland added a second stage victory to their team’s palmarès, having also won Stage 4.

Dani Schnider Radsport’s Oliver Imfeld and Dani Schnider raced to a dominant victory in the Master’s category, for teams with riders between the ages of 40 and 49. Imfeld and Schnider won four of the five stages, with only Team Stikameratene’s Thomas Morgan Knutsen and Tom Larsen able to best them, once. The Grand Master’s category was won by mountain biking legend and Swiss Epic founding rider Bärti Bucher. He and his BiXS Bikeholiday teammate Hansjürg Gerber finished in a remarkable 34thposition overall. “It’s always good to finish the final stage and to have a beer on the finish line. It was a hard week, but we had a lot of fun” Bucher smiled.

While Bucher my be a legend of the sport, he is yet to gain Epic Legend status. 13 riders were rewarded with personalised medals after they completed the 2019 Swiss Epic, having already completed the Absa Cape Epic and The Pioneer; the Epic Series’ other week long stage races. The new Epic Legends are Xavier Scheepers, Jorge Damas, Paulo Moura, Nick Hansen, Marc Witmill, Antonio Faundez, Craig Wylie, Gavin Wille, Mike Blewitt, Loan Burger, Benjamin Ramirez, Glenn Kirk and Nick Minjay.

Riders wishing to add their names to the 23 current Epic Legends can take the first step on that journey at The Pioneer in New Zealand this December. The six-day long stage race, which takes place in the Southern Alps starts on the 1stof December in Queenstown on the South Island. Entrants to it – the Swiss Epic and the thee-day Port to Port, Reef to Reef and Cape to Cape stage races – can win a slot to take part in the pinnacle of the Epic Series, the Absa Cape Epic.

Looking ahead to 2020, the Swiss Epic continues its tradition of changing its route year after year. This ensures the race will bring riders a brand-new experience in the scenic Graübunden region next year. Enjoying the same warm and welcoming hospitality of the region, riders can look forward to a five-day stage race, from 18 to 22 August 2020. The journey will start in Laax, where riders will spend two days exploring the backcountry; which has made the town famous as a winter adventure seeker’s destination. From Laax the race moves to the alpine resort village of Arosa, for two days of riding between beautiful lakes on spectacular mountain trails. The 2020 Swiss Epic will once again conclude in Davos, the host town of the sold out 2019 Swiss Epic start and finish, where riders will be rewarded for five days of exhilarating but challenging riding.

The seventh edition of the race will once again boast a full-service mountain biking experience. Complete with five nights in luxury Swiss hotels, breakfast and dinner in the race village accommodation, bike wash and servicing after each stage and door-to-door transport of the official Swiss Epic rider bags between their hotels.

General registration for the 2020 Swiss Epic opens on Monday, 9 September 2019.  To sign up to be notified when registration opens, visit www.swiss-epic.com.

Results:

UCI Men | Final General Classification

1. Trek Selle San Marco A: Michele Casagrande & Fabian Rabensteiner (16:00:06,0)
2. jb BRUNEX / Fischer BMC: Casey South & Noah Blöchlinger (16:06:43,9 | +6.37,9)
3. Texpa Simplon: Michael Stünzi & Marc Stutzmann (16:13:41,1 | +13.35,1)

UCI Women | Final General Classification

1. KS TREK – Sportograf: Adelheid Morath & Bettina Janas (20:36:27,5)
2. Centurion Vaude 2: Alice Pirard & Stefanie Dohrn (20:40:37,1 | +4.09,6)
3. Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy: Ariane Lüthi & Samara Sheppard (20:41:14,7 | +4.47,2)

Mixed Category | Final General Classification

1. Team VeloCity: Anders Seim & Synne Steinsland (21:30:39,6)
2. Thömus Factory Team: Susanne Tanner & Dimitri Süess (22:00:55,2 | +30.15,6)
3. CUBE Store Chur: Rainer & Daniela Hartmann (22:10:49,1 | +40.09,5)

Master’s Category | Final General Classification

1. Dani Schnider Radsport: Oliver Imfeld & Dani Schnider (18:51:52,6)
2. Team Stikameratene: Thomas Morgan Knutsen & Tom Larsen (18:59:39,0 | +7.46,4)
3. Mård Racing: Hans & Henrik Mård (19:04:48,0 | +12.55,4)

Grand Masters | Final General Classification

1. BiXS Bikeholiday: Bärti Bucher & Hansjürg Gerber (20:00:03,4)
2. Bim STROLZ dött rollts: Walter Schwizer & Ewald Strolz (20:17:52,2 | +17.48,8)
3. Our Experience: Oliver Bayl & Hans Siegenthaler (21:51:37,9 | +1:51.34,5)

Full results: www.epic-series.com.