Cycling: After the prologue in Verbier, the first real stage of the day was on the program yesterday at the Perskindol Swiss Epic. This led to Leukerbad and, at 95 kilometers and 3050 meters in altitude, was also the longest of the entire race. The Stöckli-BiXS team with Lukas Buchli and Mathias Flückiger clinched the day's victory. Annika Langvad and Ariane Kleinhans from Team Specialized won the women's race.
The first stage of the six-day Perskindol Swiss Epic mountain bike race was already a tough one: the riders had to cover a total of 95 kilometers from Verbier in French-speaking Switzerland to Leukerbad in the German-speaking part of Valais – the longest stage of the race. The route led over the Croix de Coeur pass down into the warm Rhone Valley, then upstream through the famous Valais vineyards.
We continued on a high trail along a bisse, irrigation canals dug into the ground and partly carved into the rock face, typical of Valais. Finally, the athletes had to overcome the long ascent from the main valley to Leukerbad at 1411 meters. The thermal bath and wellness holiday resort is located in front of an imposing backdrop, in a basin of spectacular, vertical rock faces below the Daubenhorn.
Lukas Buchli and Mathias Flückiger from the Stöckli-BiXS team had the best legs on this long, first stage: they reached the finish line after 4 hours and 16 minutes and won the day in the SWISS EPIC Men category. Second place went to Christoph Sauser with a time of 4 hours and 17 minutes and Jaroslav Kulhavy, Team Specialized, followed by the Centurion Vaude team with Daniel Geismayr and Jochen Käss with 4h 18min.
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In the women's category, Annika Langvad and Ariane Kleinhans from Team Specialized prevailed today with 5h 26min, followed by Esther Süss and Elferink Hielke, Team Wheeler iXS, and Team Mountain Heroes with Andrea Kuster and Kristin Aamodt.
In the mixed category, Bärti Bucher and Milena Landtwing won the day with 5h 20min, in the Masters Serge Robadey and Pierre Bourquenoud with 5h 25min.
Tomorrow's second stage of Perskindol Swiss Epic is a circuit from Leukerbad to Leukerbad, over 2 kilometers and 69 meters in altitude.