PERSKINDOL SWISS EPIC 2016: STAGES 1 and 2

BY: Melanie Alexander

Published: 14th September, 2016

One of the things the Swiss Epic does very well is to continually update itself, so whereas in 2015 the prologue was followed by 5 long typical Marathon stages, in 2016 Stage 2 involved taking a cable car out of Leukerbad, descending to the valley floor, then climbing back to Leukerbad, meaning we descended considerably more than we climbed, and all this in less than 40km, barely more than an XC race.

PERSKINDOL SWISS EPIC 2016 STAGE 1

Before stage 2 however came stage 1 and that was the usual sufferfest that Marathon stage races are, even more so for us as Melanie was suffering with either a bug or adverse reaction to something she’d eaten. It was hot too, 33ºC on the final climb and whilst I felt strong this was of little use as I soft pedalled away from Melanie, so against our usual code we began towing on some of the steeper sections.

Whilst tough, the route for Stage 1 was of the quality we’ve come to expect of the Swiss Epic. Rolling out of Zermatt under clear skies with the Matterhorn looming large above us we were soon into a 5km climb to the highest point of the day at 1949m. Whereas much of the prologue had been on rocky trails we were now riding through a mid of forestry and open mountain side. From the top there was almost 30km of descending, some mild, some on steep, tight switchbacks. For many this was the best descent of the day; for us that came later. At one point on the descent we were forced to stop to allow a train to pass. Frustrating, as it broke our flow and were gaining on a group ahead, but were relieved to be told by the marshals that our lost time would be credited back to us. A little disappointing that the time was taken on a smart phone rather than a classic Swiss timepiece such as an Omega Speedmaster or cuckoo clock, but I didn’t complain.

Once down we were straight back into a climb, much of which was on tarmac. It was here that Melanie really started to suffer and though we held pace with the male pairs around us and moved past some teams we were never with the leading quartet of mixed pairs. The suffering was paused however once we reached the top as the next descent was our favourite of those the Swiss Epic has yet dished up. Much steeper than the first, with switchbacks, termed corners, steep drops and all rideable fast. On one section we let a Swiss Flow (Enduro) pair take the lead and it was hugely enjoyable to follow them down, pushing the limits of our hardtails as we kicked up great clouds of dust.

Elation again turned to discomfort however, as following a short fast section across the valley floor we were soon into the final climb where temperatures started to climb as we gained elevation. Many of the riders we’d been around all day were also suffering now and we were able to creep ahead of them, even passing a few more riders before the finish in Leukerbad.

Having finished in 4th on the prologue, the same position we had in 2015, we were hoping to move forward in the rankings on stage 2 but finished in 7th place on what was an exhausting day for Melanie, placing us 5th overall.

Leukerbad itself is a spa town and an ideal spot for some recovery. At the Astoria Hotel our room was spacious and Melanie was able to relax all afternoon and evening whilst the Hotel staff laundered our dirty clothes and prepared our meal which included a second serving of spaghetti.

PERSKINDOL SWISS EPIC 2016 STAGE 2

So onto Stage 2. Flow riders and Epic riders would take on the same route, with Flow riders starting first and UCI Men starting last. For us this meant taking a cable car at 9:30, a leisurely start time by stage race standards, a short wait at the top chatting with other competitors, then starting in reverse order at 1 minute intervals.

The descent started with an open bike park style trail with tabletops, berms and small rollable doubles; fun, but not my favourite style of riding, but once through this section we were into more natural feeling trails. The descent to the valley floor was 19km in length, punctuated by about 2km of climbing. Parts of their descent had clearly been well used as they had become rutted with braking bumps and for the fist time in this year’s race we found ourselves wishing for full suspension.
Whereas on stage 1 we’d seen very little of the other mixed pairs, on stage 2 we saw nearly all of them as were caught and passed most of those starting in front of us and were in turn passed by all bar one of the teams starting behind us. Melanie was stronger than on stage 1, though still not where I think she should be, so we were only close to the leading teams for short periods of time, but it did feel more like racing and we were able to get a sense of the quality of the competition and it’s stepped up from 2015 in mixed. In fact, the competition is high across the board with Yolanda Neff leading the female pairs and Nino Schurter taking a leisurely spin around the top 5 in the male pairs.

We finished the stage in 6th position, 11 minutes behind the leading pair of Adrian Ruhstaller and Cornelia Hug riding for R’adys Scott, and maintain 5th overall. Melanie was able to eat at the finish zone food point, a good sign that she’s recovering, and with a delicious ice-cream eaten in the sunshine I’m sure she’ll be in a better place on tomorrow’s stage 3 to Verbier, all 95km and 3000m climbing of it.