September 12, 2018 (Grächen, Switzerland) – Canada’s Catharine Pendrel and Haley Smith took over the lead following Stage 2 from Bettmeralp to Grächen, 77km. The duo finished second on the opening 63 km Stage from Bettmeralp to Bettmeralp.

Stage 1

Riders cover 50-80km each day with 1800-2800m of climbing before arriving in Zermatt at the foot of the Matterhorn on Saturday. 334 athletes left the race village this morning under clear skies, setting off on a 63km loop, culminating in the main obstacle of the day – a tough 10km climb back up to the traditional Swiss village.

Dark horse team BMC Fischer Price struck the first blow in the men’s category, snatching victory from team Scott-SRAM. Swiss riders Martin Fanger and Noah Blöchlinger crossed the line on stage one 55 seconds ahead of Matthias Stirnemann and Andri Frischknecht.

The decisive move of the day was made early in the race with an attack on the very first rise. Scott-SRAM, BMC Fischer Price and jb Brunex Felt Factory Team’s Thomas Litscher and Max Foidl broke clear of the group. However on the fast descent from the Fiescheralp to Fiesch, bad luck struck jb Brunex Felt – Litscher sliced his tyre, which could not be repaired, forcing them out of contention.

This left BMC Fischer Price and Scott-SRAM to duel it out on the rolling terrain approaching the 10km climb. Andri Frischknecht made a big attack on the second last rise, putting Fanger in difficulty, “I did a marathon race on the weekend and my legs aren’t that good for short hard efforts, so I couldn’t follow.” That left Scott-SRAM in the lead with BMC Fischer Price fighting hard on their own in no-man’s land to stay in contention.

Aiming to maintain their advantage, Scott-SRAM hit the base of the climb hard, perhaps overextending themselves in the process. Fanger and Blöchlinger played a different game, “With some good team spirit, Noah was helping me a lot. We rode one speed and with the altitude we were a little faster near the end, and we were able to close the gap.”

By the 53km mark, BMC Fischer Price had closed in on Scott-SRAM, with Stirnemann struggling, “After the feed zone it was just suffering, I think I didn’t eat enough and in the end I had tired legs. We didn’t overdo it… it’s a long way to the finish in Zermatt.”

With their ears pinned back, BMC Fischer Price went all-in for the stage, taking line honours and the overall race lead. Scott-SRAM hung on for second and coming in third was Team BiXS after a steady effort from Konny Looser and Hansueli Stauffer. “It was a bit too fast in the beginning for us and we wanted to ride our rhythm, save energy and ride consistent – there’s four more days to go!” said Looser, the current Swiss marathon champion – his eyes set on the final prize.

In the women’s field, team Canada’s Catharine Pendrel and Haley Smith looked set to take the stage all morning, passing the checkpoints in the lead with a small margin over Team Thömus’ Alessandra Keller and Katrin Stirnemann. But their ride was not without incident. “There was a moment of inattention and I hit a rock that knocked me off the track and into a cow fence,” said the two-time world champion Pendrel at the finish line showing a scratched cheek.

The tumble did little to discourage the two-time world champion and Olympic medallist – it was the final climb that was the Canadian team’s undoing. Locals Keller and Stirnemann set a steady pace, with Pendrel and Smith in their sights all the way up. With the hare ahead, Team Thömus moved up to the Canadians and gained contact with them in time for the final technical section, where they made their move.

The Swiss riders pressed home their advantage to gain 36 seconds and take the win and the overall lead. Keller was delighted. “I have never wore a leader’s jersey before. For sure we want to keep it till the end and try our best but we want to enjoy ourselves too!” said the newly-crowned under 23 world champion.

Still very much in touch of the leaders overall, losing the stage didn’t seem to affect Pendrel’s morale, clearly enjoying the Alpine scenery, “It’s like riding through a postcard here!”

Pendrel’s enthusiasm must have been contagious. Spirits were high in the race village, with riders visibly inspired by the landscapes and the challenge of navigating the tight and narrow trails. “I have never ridden such incredible trails before in my life anywhere – we had a ball,” says Heinrich Tait of master team Chocolate Block, from South Africa.

Tomorrow’s stage is starts as spectacularly as the stage 1 ended. Transitioning to Grächen, the ‘high road’ above the Rhone Valley sees a glimpse of the race’s final destination – the Matterhorn. This marks the start of a glorious descent to Mörel, passing the only saffron cultivation in Switzerland. At the end of the day, riders will have worked hard for their dinners, having climbed 2700m in 77km.

Stage 2

Stage 2 was one for the marathon specialists in the men’s field – BiXS Pro Team’s Hansueli Stauffer and Konny Looser prevailed over the 77km course, taking control of the stage on the final climb and resisted the efforts of Buff Scott and Scott-SRAM to take victory.

Earlier in the stage, it looked set to be a two-team battle between Scott-SRAM’s Matthias Stirnemann and Andri Frischknecht and Team USA Red’s Christopher Blevins and Keegan Swenson. “After the Mörel descent we kept a high rhythm on the first big climb and then it was just us and Scott-SRAM working together,” said Swenson.

Blevens then suffered a puncture at the bottom of the next descent. A hurried repair cost them more time, putting them out of contention. This left Stirnemann and Frischknecht in the lead alone, with a clear path ahead.

However the marathon specialists had other plans. Team BiXS’s Stauffer and Looser, who had also flatted early on, put in a strong ride in the flat section before the last climb and joined up with Buff Scott, setting off up the ascent in pursuit of Scott-SRAM. With Matthias Stirnemann struggling, Team BiXS and Buff Scott caught the overall race favourites. “Hansueli attacked – I waited till he was 100m away then I went across to him,” said Looser. Arriving at the line with 48 seconds over second placed team Guerra and Morcillo, the all-Swiss team had time to celebrate. Frischknecht and Stirnemann held on for third.

The overall race leaders BMC Fischer Price had terrible luck with four flats, finishing over 46 minutes down, relinquishing the lead to Scott-SRAM.

The women’s race took form early on with a neck-and-neck battle between Team Canada’s Haley Smith and Catharine Pendrel and overall race leaders Thömus RN’s Kathrin Stirnemann & Alessandra Keller. The two teams have revealed themselves as the on-form contenders to watch. It should come as no surprise, since Keller was crowned the under 23 UCI World Champion last weekend, Stirnemann is a former XCE UCI World Champion, Smith took 6th in the 2018 elite UCI XCO World Championships and Pendrel is a two-time UCI XCO World Champion and Olympic medallist.

Having learned a valuable lesson from yesterday’s narrow loss, Team Canada patiently waited for the right moment to make the decisive move. “Today was a super close battle, we were together at all the waterpoints, and then in the final tarred climb we pulled hard and got away.”

At the top, Smith and Pendrel had over a minute’s gap. Sensing their rivals’ weakness, they were keenly aware that this was a good opportunity to gain valuable time on team Thömus RN on the overall GC. They capitalised and stretched their advantage to 2 minutes and 55 seconds, earning themselves the coveted orange leaders’ jerseys.

Although their lead-up to the 2018 Perskindol Swiss Epic was far from ideal, with Terpstra’s ankle injury flaring up recently and Benko’s illness, Ghost Factory Racing still managed a creditable third.
Switzerland
In the masters category we saw leaders Dani Schnider and Oliver Imfeld put more time into their rivals to extend their advantage, as did Bärti Bucher and Hansjürg Gerber in the Grandmasters category. Florence Darbellay and Jérémy Huguenin now lead the mixed category by over 20 minutes.

This is the queen stage of the 2018 race. Host to the XCM UCI World Championships in 2019, the region features trails that pose the ultimate test of any mountain biker. This loop course shows the highest ratio of climbing of all five stages, with the panoramic views of Moosalp as the perfect antidote. Riders will need to pace themselves carefully – after Kalpetran, there’s a final sting in the tail.

Results

Stage 1: Bettmeralp to Bettmeralp – 63 km

Women
1. Thömus / RN Racing Team (Kathrin Stirnemann/Alessandra Keller) 4:03:56.5
2. Team Canada (Haley Smith/Catharine Pendrel) 0:36.6
3. GHOST FACTORY RACING (Barbara Benko/Anne Terpstra) 0:10:12.6

Men
1. BMC Fischer Price (Noah Blöchlinger/Martin Fanger) 3:16:46.2
2. SCOTT-SRAM MTB RACING (Matthias Stirnemann/Andri Frischknecht) at 0:55.5
3. BiXS Pro Team (Hansueli Stauffer/Konny Looser) 3:55.9

10. Forward Racing-Norco (Andrew L’Esperance/Sean Fincham) 19:20.8

Stage 2 – Bettmeralp to Grächen – 77km

Women
1. Team Canada 102-1 Haley SMITH (Canada) 102-2 Catharine PENDREL (Canada) 4:35.33,3
2. Thömus / RN Racing Team 101-1 Kathrin STIRNEMANN (Switzerland) 101-2 Alessandra KELLER (Switzerland) 4:38.28,3 +2.55,0
3. GHOST FACTORY RACING 103-1 Barbara BENKO (Hungary) 103-2 Anne TERPSTRA (Netherlands) 4:46.16,0 +10.42,7

Men
1. BiXS Pro Team 2-1 Hansueli STAUFFER(Switzerland) Konny LOOSER (Switzerland) 3:49.44,1
2. BUFF SCOTT MTB TEAM 3-1 Francesc GUERRA (Spain) 3-2 Enrique MORCILLO (Spain) 3:50.32,4 +48,3
3. SCOTT-SRAM MTB RACING 1-1 Matthias STIRNEMANN (Switzerland) 1-2 Andri FRISCHKNECHT (Switzerland) 3:51.27,3 +1.43,2