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Adelheid MORATH and Bettina JANAS during Stage 4 of the 2019 Swiss Epic from Lenzerheide to Lenzerheide, Graubünden, Switzerland on 23 August 2019 [Swiss Epic]

KS Trek – Sportograf Win Stage 4 and Move into Swiss Epic Lead

By Epic Series, 08/23/19, 10:00AM HST

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KS Trek – Sportograf stormed to their third successive stage victory when they crossed the finish in Lenzerheide, on Friday 23 August

Adelheid MORATH and Bettina JANAS during Stage 4 of the 2019 Swiss Epic from Lenzerheide to Lenzerheide, Graubünden, Switzerland on 23 August 2019

KS Trek – Sportograf stormed to their third successive stage victory when they crossed the finish in Lenzerheide, on Friday 23 August. Adelheid Morath and Bettina Janas strung together three remarkable rides; from fifth at the start Stage 2 to the Swiss Epic race lead by the end of Stage 4. The German pair hold a slender 13.4 second lead ahead of the final stage of the race.

“That was cool” Janas grinned, after winning Stage 4 in a time of 3 hours, 11 minutes and 12.8 seconds. “Yesterday I felt we had to show it was not only one day [that we could win], but two days. Today I felt we had to show it was not only two days… So, it was really cool” she said enthusiastically.

Explaining how the stage was won Janas elaborated: “In the beginning we were all together. Then as we approached the first downhill we attacked because we had planned on entering that singletrack first. It turned out to be the right tactic. On the next climb we managed to ride away from Ariane Lüthi and her partner [Samarah Sheppard].” The KS Trek – Sportograf riders managed to stay away from the chasing Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy team, eventually winning the stage by 3 minutes and 7.3 seconds.

“The downhills were incredibly fun today” Janas continued. “Especially the first one. I rode it with a huge smile on my face. It was so much fun!”

Lüthi and Sheppard enjoyed the trail as much as their fellow riders, despite losing their spot on the UCI women’s podium. “It was a lot of fun out on the trail with the sun coming out” Sheppard related. “I think, with it being Stage 4 today, we are getting to know each other really well,” the New Zealander continued. “We’re starting to know each other’s limits, so now we can push on really well together and today we did that. The two climbs today were brutal though. They were really high too. You get up into the thin air and you get a little bit light headed and that was pretty tough. The descents though were great. I was just following Ariane’s wheel and enjoying the good trails here. I’m stoked now!” Sheppard said.

Sheppard and Lüthi slipped to fourth despite finishing second on the stage as KS Trek – Sportograf leapfrogged them and the rest of the women’s podium place holders. The day’s biggest losers were the former race leaders, Corina Gantenbein and Kathrin Stirnemann. Team Shimano S-Phyre had started the Swiss Epic on a high but as the altitude and kilometres have accumulated Stirnemann has struggled more and more with her breathing. That has not dampened Gantenbein’s high spirits though. “Before this race I wasn’t sure if it would be possible for me to race so many days in a row” Gantenbein confessed. The Swiss rider is returning from a glandular fever enforced lay-off from racing and the Swiss Epic is her first stage race back. “I actually feel better every day, so I’m quite happy” she laughed.

Gantenbein and Stirnemann are not entirely out of the reckoning for the overall victory however. Their deficit to the new race leaders stands at 1 minute and 48.7 seconds. A strong showing on the final stage could well overturn that, though they will have to distance both KS Trek – Sportograf and Centurion Vaude 2. Alice Pirard and Stefanie Dohrn finished the penultimate stage 10 minutes and 5.8 seconds behind the stage winners.

That was enough to ensure that they did not inherit the orange women’s leaders’ jerseys, but they had briefly thought that they had done enough. Having absorbed the news Pirard stated: “This race is so exciting. I think every women’s team has enjoyed this hard battle. It is so cool to fight for every second like this! The last stage is going to be exciting. Anything can happen.”

In mountain biking anything can happen as Pirard pointed out. Pressure can force mistakes and the 13.4 second advantage KS TREK – Sportograf holds is just one wrong line choice away from evaporating in the pristine Swiss air. To watch the action unfold live from the final 65-kilometre-long stage of the 2019 Swiss Epic, visit www.swiss-epic.com from 07h30 on Saturday.

Results:
UCI Women | Stage 4
1. KS TREK – Sportograf: Adelheid Morath & Bettina Janas (3:11:12,8)
2. Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy: Ariane Lüthi & Samara Sheppard (3:14:20,1 | +3.07,3)
3. Centurion Vaude 2: Alice Pirard & Stefanie Dohrn (3:21:18,6 | +10.05,8)
4. Shimano S-Phyre: Corina Gantenbein & Kathrin Stirnemann (3:23:05,5 | +11.52,7)
5.Team ÅBRO / Fairtree: Jennie Stenerhag & Katie Lennard (3:27:37,2 | +16.24,4)

UCI Women | GC After Stage 4
1. KS TREK – Sportograf: Adelheid Morath & Bettina Janas (16:53:02,9)
2. Centurion Vaude 2: Alice Pirard & Stefanie Dohrn (16:53:16,3 | +13,4)
3. Shimano S-Phyre: Corina Gantenbein & Kathrin Stirnemann (16:54:51,6 | +1.48,7)
4. Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy: Ariane Lüthi & Samara Sheppard (16:55:37,5 | +2.34,6)
5. Team ÅBRO / Fairtree: Jennie Stenerhag & Katie Lennard (17:58:15,7 | +1:05.12,8)

Full results: www.epic-series.app/swissepic/results

During Stage 4 of the 2019 Swiss Epic from St. Moritz to St. Moritz, Graubünden, Switzerland on 23 August 2019

During Stage 4 of the 2019 Swiss Epic from St. Moritz to St. Moritz, Graubünden, Switzerland on 23 August 2019. Photo by Marius Holler.

During Stage 4 of the 2019 Swiss Epic from St. Moritz to St. Moritz, Graubünden, Switzerland on 23 August 2019. Photo by Marius Holler.

During Stage 4 of the 2019 Swiss Epic from St. Moritz to St. Moritz, Graubünden, Switzerland on 23 August 2019. Photo by Marius Holler.

Ariane LÜTHI and Samara SHEPPARD during Stage 4 of the 2019 Swiss Epic from Lenzerheide to Lenzerheide, Graubünden, Switzerland on 23 August 2019. Photo by Michael Chiaretta

Ariane LÜTHI and Samara SHEPPARD during Stage 4 of the 2019 Swiss Epic from Lenzerheide to Lenzerheide, Graubünden, Switzerland on 23 August 2019. Photo by Michael Chiaretta

Kathrin STIRNEMANN during Stage 4 of the 2019 Swiss Epic from Lenzerheide to Lenzerheide, Graubünden, Switzerland on 23 August 2019. Photo by Michael Chiaretta

Kathrin STIRNEMANN during Stage 4 of the 2019 Swiss Epic from Lenzerheide to Lenzerheide, Graubünden, Switzerland on 23 August 2019. Photo by Michael Chiaretta