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Wilier Pirelli & Davos Klosters Women Extend SPAR Swiss Epic Leads on Stage 2

1022
Swiss Epic

The second stage of the 2022 SPAR Swiss Epic took the 410 teams from Arosa east to Laax; on Wednesday, 17 August.

The 79 kilometre long stage featured a significant climb from the start; to the highest point in the race, Urdenfürggli, at 2 546 metres above sea level. Though Wilier Pirelli Factory were able to escape early on, they were hunted down by the Singer Racing Team and needed to attack a second time to secure another stage victory. The women’s race was a less complex affair for Davos Klosters. Bettina Janas and Adelheid Morath edged away from their rivals and gradually extended their advantage throughout the race to Laax.

Despite ominous looking clouds gathering on the highest peaks around Arosa, the day eventually provided more perfect alpine summer weather in Graubünden. Living up to the conditions the racing was red hot from the off, with Fabian Rabensteiner and Daniel Geismayr going on the attack, rather than reactively defending their yellow Ciovita leader jerseys. “The race was really hard from the beginning,” five-time Absa Cape Epic winner and BULLS media eBike pilot, Karl Platt, recounted. “The Wilier Pirelli team went really hard from the beginning and I think they wanted to be the first in the downhill because then they could control the speed. That’s exactly what they did and they rode with great flow, fast but without taking any risks.”

“Today I felt strong from the beginning,” Rabensteiner reflected, after sealing the stage win. “I felt quite good at altitude, but once we got down to Lenzerheide I felt super good! We were racing well, so it was a bit unexpected when the Singer guys came back to us. But we were still feeling strong so after racing together for a while we were able to attack again in the last 10 kilometres. We went full gas then and managed to open a little gap in the end.”

“I had a big fall on the first downhill yesterday,” Simon Stiebjahn, of Singer Racing, pointed out. “Last night I could hardly walk up stairs and this morning I was still quite sore. But fortunately, on the bike I felt good, maybe I just lacked that very top end power. I was able to ride with a good rhythm though and hopefully I’ll recover more day-by-day. The SPAR Swiss Epic is still long and anything can happen.”

Stiebjahn and Martin Frey were able to limit their losses, to Rabensteiner and Geismayr, to 1 minute and 22 seconds on the stage. That means that Wilier Pirelli now lead Singer Racing by 5 minutes and 2 seconds on the general classification standings. BUFF MEGAMO 2’s Hugo Drechou and Enrique Morcillo Vergara were third on the stage and move up to fourth on the general classification, behind Dario Cherchi and Martino Tronconi of KTM ALCHEMIST & ATTITUDE.

In the women’s race Irina Lützelschwab’s stage was blighted by punctures. The doc-oliday.com// Team BULLS combination had started the day fourth overall but dropped out of contention as Lützelschwab was forced to repair three flat tyres. Eventually Janine Schneider rode on alone, their hopes of salvaging any general classification result shattered.

This served as a warning for the leaders, who appear in total control. Once again Janas and Morath were in a class of their own. “I really liked the first climb today,” Morath said. “I rode it at my pace and went into the downhill first. But Betty [Janas] is very technically strong, so she soon caught me in the singletrack. We then attacked on that descent to Lenzerheide, got a gap and just rode nicely to the end.”

Janas and Morath’s margin of victory was 2 minutes and 34 seconds over Janina Wüst & Debora Piana. In finishing second on the stage, MTB Pro Merchandising - Team Cingolani leapfrogged Efficient Infiniti Insure / Rare Street Coffee into second on the general classification. Vera Looser struggled with illness during the stage, but she and Kim Le Court limited their losses well. They are just 12 seconds behind the Swiss/Italian combination in third overall. Davos Klosters extended their lead, meanwhile, to a comfortable 12 minutes and 32 seconds.

Stage 3, on Thursday 18 August, takes the teams on a loop through the trails of Laax, Flims and Falera. Beautiful forest riding abounds, as do more views over the Rhine Gorge and a race down the iconic Runca Trail; one of Europe’s longest flow trails and an International Mountain Bicycling Association award-winning singletrack. The route is 63 kilometres long and includes 2 200 metres of climbing. It is also the first day of the race not to crest 2 000 metres above sea level, though the highest point, at Ustria Startgels, comes within 5 metres of that mark. To follow the action visit www.epic-series.com/swissepic.


2022 SPAR Swiss Epic Results:

Men’s Stage 2 Results

  1. Wilier Pirelli Factory: Fabian Rabensteiner & Daniel Geismayr (3:46:30)
  2. Singer Racing Team: Martin Frey & Simon Stiebjahn (3:47:52 | +1:22)
  3. Buff Megamo 2: Hugo Drechou & Enrique Morcillo Vergara (3:55:32 | +9:02)
  4. KTM ALCHEMIST & ATTITUDE: Dario Cherchi & Martino Tronconi (3:57:23 | +10:53)
  5. St.Moritz: Fadri Barandun & Vinzent Dorn (3:59:31 | +13:01)

Women’s Stage 2 Results

  1. Davos Klosters Women: Bettina Janas & Adelheid Morath (4:48:09)
  2. MTB Pro Merchandising - Team Cingolani: Janina Wüst & Debora Piana (4:50:43 | +2:34)
  3. Efficient Infiniti Insure / Rare Street Coffee: Vera Looser & Kim Le Court (4:55:47 | +7:38)
  4. Velo Flütsch: Alessia Nay & Antonia Bünter (5:22:43 | +34:34)
  5. MTBcamps: Maaris Meier & Liisa Ehrberg (5:35:09 | +47:00)


Men’s General Classification after Stage 2:

  1. Wilier Pirelli Factory: Fabian Rabensteiner & Daniel Geismayr (6:43:40)
  2. Singer Racing Team: Martin Frey & Simon Stiebjahn (6:48:42 | +5:02)
  3. KTM ALCHEMIST & ATTITUDE: Dario Cherchi & Martino Tronconi (6:58:16 | +14:36)
  4. Buff Megamo 2: Hugo Drechou & Enrique Morcillo Vergara (7:03:06 | +19:26)
  5. St.Moritz: Fadri Barandun & Vinzent Dorn (7:03:37 | +19:57)


Women’s General Classification after Stage 2:

  1. Davos Klosters Women: Bettina Janas & Adelheid Morath (8:33:10)
  2. MTB Pro Merchandising - Team Cingolani: Janina Wüst & Debora Piana (8:45:46 | +12:36)
  3. Efficient Infiniti Insure / Rare Street Coffee: Vera Looser & Kim Le Court (8:45:58 | +12:48)
  4. Velo Flütsch: Alessia Nay & Antonia Bünter (9:34:55 | +1:01:45)
  5. MTBcamps: Maaris Meier & Liisa Ehrberg (9:52:21 | +1:19:11)

To view the full results please click here.