The final stage of the 2019 Swiss Epic saw Adelheid Morath and Bettina Janas complete their remarkable comeback to win the UCI Women’s race title. Having lost 17 minutes on the opening stage the KS Trek – Sportograf team strung together four consecutive stage wins to secure the overall victory. Crossing the line in Davos, on Saturday 24 August, the pair were understandably elated.

“It’s so cool, we didn’t think about the overall after the first day and now we have won it!” an elated Janas reflected. The stage and race winners completed the 64-kilometre-long final stage, from Lenzerheide to Davos, in a time of 3 hours, 43 minutes and 24.6 seconds. Their time was 2 minutes and 12.6 seconds faster than that of their nearest rivals, Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy, on the day. Not that extending their advantage had been part of the plan for the KS Trek – Sportograf team ahead of the stage.

“We focused on ourselves” Janas said of their approach to the stage. “We followed our own rhythm, tried to not go over our limit, not get too nervous and keep cool. That was the key to today’s victory” the rider who represents Sportograf concluded.

Behind Janas and Morath an epic tussle unfolded between the Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy and Centurion Vaude 2 teams. Having started the stage with 2 minutes and 20.8 seconds separating them, the two engaged in a fierce battle for the Swiss Epic silver medals. Stefanie Dohrn had struggled with illness on Stage 4 and was still not entirely healthy on Stage 5 either. She and Alice Pirard dug deep to stay with Ariane Lüthi and Samarah Sheppard for as long as possible.

Then when the Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy team began to edge away the Centurion Vaude 2 team fought to limit their time losses. “I left everything out there!” Lüthi puffed after congratulating her partner Sheppard on their second position on Stage 5. The Swiss/New Zealand combination then turned to watch the clock and the finishing straight. 1 minutes and 43.6 seconds ticked by before Pirard and Dohrn sprinted across the finish line.

Having done enough to earn second position overall Dohrn confessed: “I had some problems on the last two days. So, it was our goal to finish second overall and we did it! I’m really proud of Alice [Pirard], she really helped me a lot.” The gap between the Centurion Vaude and Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy teams, after five challenging days of racing, was just 37.6 seconds.

Further down the field the early leaders of the Swiss Epic, the Shimano S-Phyre team continued lose ground on the overall standings. Kathrin Stirnemann’s breathing troubles, which had caused her problems on Stages 3 and 4 worsened on Stage 5. “Today was worse. My diaphragm felt like it was made of stone and I could hardly breathe” Stirnemann recounted. “It was a struggle just to get to the finish.”

Stirnemann and her teammate Corina Gantenbein finished fifth on the stage; but only lost one general classification position, slipping to fourth overall. In a reverse of the stage and overall standings, the Swiss MTB Girls powered by Play up! finished fourth on the day and fifth overall. The young Swiss combination of Ramona Kupferschmied and Chrystelle Baumann gained valuable experience at the 2019 Swiss Epic, which will no doubt stand them in good stead for the rest of the long careers they have ahead of them.

Results:

UCI Women | Stage 5

1. KS TREK – Sportograf: Adelheid Morath & Bettina Janas (3:43:24,6)
2. Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy: Ariane Lüthi & Samara Sheppard (3:45:37,2 | +2.12,6)
3. Centurion Vaude 2: Alice Pirard & Stefanie Dohrn (3:47:20,8 | +3.56,2)
4. Swiss MTB Girls powered by Play up!: Ramona Kupferschmied & Chrystelle Baumann (3:54:54,4 | +11.29,8)
5. Shimano S-Phyre: Corina Gantenbein & Kathrin Stirnemann (4:05:13,4 | +21.48,8)

UCI Women | GC After Stage 5

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)
4. Shimano S-Phyre: Corina Gantenbein & Kathrin Stirnemann (21:00:05,0 | +23.37,5)
5. Swiss MTB Girls powered by Play up!: Ramona Kupferschmied & Chrystelle Baumann (22:02:08,0 | +1:25.40,5)

Full results: www.swiss-epic.com.