Press Release from the Swiss Epic:
Action during Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic from La Punt to La Punt, Engadin, Graubünden, Switzerland on 20 August 2026. Photo by Sam Clark.
Honeycomb 226ers became the first team to win a stage at an Epic Series stage race on 32-inch
wheels when Marc Pritzen and Felix Stehli won Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic. The South
African/Swiss pairing charged through a shortened 24-kilometre time trial course to win the day
in 43 minutes and 13 seconds and move up in the general classification standings. The Elite
Women’s race leaders, Anna Weinbeer and Claudia Peretti, of KTM Spada Brenta Brakes –
Olympia, doubled up, adding Stage 2 honours to their Stage 1 victory, firming up their grip on the
orange CIOVITA jerseys in the rain and mud of La Punt.
Thursday, 20 August, presented significant challenges to the Swiss Epic race organisers and the
2026 participants. Thunderstorms had rolled across the Alps, bringing lightning with them and
making it dangerous to race at high elevations. As a result, the 52-kilometre time trial course,
which had been set to start on the Bernina Pass, 600 metres higher than La Punt in the Engadin
Valley, was shortened to just 24 kilometres and confined to the lower altitudes around La Punt,
Samedan, and Bever. This suited the Honeycomb 226ers and KTM Spada Brenta Brakes –
Olympia teams to perfection as they charged to stage victories. In the process, Marc Pritzen and
Felix Stehli made history, as the first team to win aboard 32-inch wheels, while Anna Weinbeer
and Claudia Peretti added a further 41 seconds to their general classification advantage.
Barti BUCHER and Hansjürg GERBER during Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic from La Punt to La Punt, Engadin, Graubünden, Switzerland on 20 August 2026. Photo by Marius Holler.
“Today I suffered for only one hour, rather than 4 and a half hours,” Peretti joked after crossing
the finish line. “As always, Anna [Weinbeer] is super strong. She made all the racing, with me
behind suffering. But we managed to finish with the others, so we took the win.”
With the course changes and the threat of lightning predicted to intensify in the afternoon, the
usual time trial rules were relaxed. Teams were allowed to draft one another and started at 20-
second intervals, making it inevitable that there would be some collaboration on course.
Torpado Kenda FSA’s men’s teams were best placed to exploit these factors, but it also aided
the women in orange.
Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic from La Punt to La Punt, Engadin, Graubünden, Switzerland on 20 August 2026. Photo by Marius Holler.
Starting last of the Elite Women’s teams, Weinbeer and Peretti charged through the early
kilometres until they caught the Torpado Kenda FSA Women and Massi ISB Sport teams. The
Sportograf.com pairing of Bettina Janas and Kim Ames had dropped out of contention for stage
honours, and were in a battle against themselves, fighting to avoid catastrophic time losses.
Janas and Ames were passed early in the stage by Weinbeer and Peretti, while ahead, Katazina
Sosna-Pinele and Giorgia Marchet had caught Tessa Kortekaas and Amanda Bohlin.
LEADER JERSEY MASTER MEN during Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic from La Punt to La Punt, Engadin, Graubünden, Switzerland on 20 August 2026. Photo by Michael Chiaretta.
When KTM Spada Brenta Brakes – Olympia team joined the Sosna-Pinele group, their advantage
was effectively 40 seconds to the Torpado Kenda FSA Women and 60 seconds to the Massi ISB
Sport combination, with Kortekaas and Bohlin also conceding 20 seconds to Sosna-Pinele and
Marchet. All three teams appeared happy with the situation, and no further attempts to attack
were made.
“Thanks to the organisation for rebuilding this stage,” Marchet praised. “The thunderstorm was
going to be too dangerous on the pass, but the organisation made another plan quickly, which
allowed us to still race, and race safely.”
Celebrating the finish of Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic from La Punt to La Punt, Engadin, Graubünden, Switzerland on 20 August 2026. Photo by Nick Muzik.
“Today was short, but very hard. We pushed from the first to the last metre,” Marchet continued.
“But Katazina [Sosna-Pinele] and my legs were good so we could push all the way. We were able
to put power down on the flats and on the climb, then took the downhill safely before pushing to
the finish. We are happy with second today.”
Both Marchet and Weinbeer expressed their happiness at an unexpectedly early finish too. By
09:00, their racing and podium duties were completed, leaving the elite teams with a long
afternoon to unwind. “I enjoyed today, enjoyed racing with Claudia. We pushed hard and did a
good job. And now we have a long day to recover,” Weinbeer smiled. “Today the afternoon is very
long; we can chill a bit, maybe watch something on TV and drink a coffee,” Peretti added in clear delight.
Riders during Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic from La Punt to La Punt, Engadin, Graubünden, Switzerland on 20 August 2026. Photo by Sam Clark.
The stage result saw KTM Spada | Brenta Brakes – Olympia gain 41 seconds over Torpado
Kenda FSA Women, with Massi ISB Sport third at 61 seconds back. Vitally, Sportograf.com
lost 4 minutes and 36 seconds on the day, but managed to hang onto second overall. Janas,
who may have been struggling after her crash on Stage 1, and Ames slipped to 16 minutes and 32
seconds off the race leaders, Weinbeer and Peretti. Sosna-Pinele and Marchet are 4 minutes
and 35 seconds down on Janas and Ames heading into Stage 3. Kortekaas and Bohlin remain
fourth, a further 3 minutes back, and the Royally Exhausted Seawork Cares team of Julika Pahl
and Linda Detering are fifth overall.
In the Elite Men’s race, the day one winners, Fadri Barandun and Andrin Beeli, were under
pressure from the off as they watched Klimatiza Orbea set blistering times at the early time
checks. Having lost 21 minutes on Stage 1, David Valero and José Dias were among the first
men off the start ramp. Their times would later be eclipsed, but they set the benchmark to
chase.
SCOTT Racing 2’s Stefano Goria and Davide Foccoli, as well as Wout Alleman and Martin
Stosek, of Buff-BH, went faster than Valero and Dias. Both squads had been solid, if not
spectacular, on the first day and were eager to make amends on the time trial. The short course
meant that they had limited opportunity to gain time, but Goria and Foccoli did move up on the
general classification standings after setting the third-best time on the day.
Torpado Kenda FSA were second fastest, besting all but the stage winners, the Honeycomb
226ers. “It was a short day, a fast day, but a good day,” Casey South began, as he explained
how Stage 2 played out. “We had a plan with Gioele [de Cosmo] and Jakob [Dorigoni of
Torpado Kenda FSA 2]. They started just 20 seconds ahead of us, so they took the first
kilometres easy, and we went full gas to catch them as soon as possible. Together the four
of us were able to swap off, and it was a big help.”
Working together, the Torpado Kenda FSA squad made short work of the first 22 kilometres,
setting the best time to that point, but once Gioele de Cosmo and Jakob Dorigoni were spent,
South and Fabian Rabensteiner were unable to match the speed of the flying Honeycomb
226ers pair. Pritzen and Stehli even recovered from a wrong turn, where they went briefly off
course. The error saw them receive a 10-second time penalty because they rejoined the course
in a different place than where they departed it. Nonetheless, Pritzen and Stehli set the fastest
time by 21 seconds.
“It’s great! After our stage win at the Absa Cape Epic, winning a stage at the Swiss Epic and now
with Marc [Pritzen] on the 32-inch too, it’s cool,” Stehli beamed, referencing his Stage 3 victory
at the Absa Cape Epic on the Stoll P32.
Pritzen joined Stehli for a Swiss training camp ahead of the Swiss Epic and used the time to not
only acclimatise to the altitude and trails of the Swiss Alps but also to familiarise himself with
the 32-inch wheels of his new bike. “I think once the 32-incher starts rolling it’s really an
advantage,” Pritzen noted.
“But we also had good legs today,” the South African XCM champion acknowledged. “We caught
the team who started ahead of us [Klimatiza Orbea 2’s Marc Stutzmann and Samuele Porro] and
then Marc was just hammering it,” Stehli continued. “There are still three stages to go. We’ll be
giving our best, and we know the trails quite well from the recons we did over the last couple of
weeks, so we’ll see what we can achieve by the time we reach the final Davos finish line on Sunday.”
The Honeycomb 226ers have already gained a place on the general classification standings,
moving up to third as Torpado Kenda FSA 2 slipped out of the top five. Pritzen and Stehli are now
3 minutes and 21 seconds off the race leaders, Barandun and Beeli. SCOTT Racing 2 are fourth,
and Klimatiza Orbea 2 are fifth.
Riders during Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic from La Punt to La Punt, Engadin, Graubünden, Switzerland on 20 August 2026. Photo by Sam Clark.
Perhaps more pertinently, after their storming ride on Stage 1, Barandun and Beeli lost time on
Stage 2. The Engadin La Punt pair could only manage the eighth fastest time on the day, ceding
94 seconds to Pritzen and Stehli, as well as 75 seconds to Rabensteiner and South. Engadin La
Punt thus holds a 3 minutes and 10 seconds advantage over Torpado Kenda FSA 1 going into
Stage 3. “Tomorrow will be a hard, tough stage on the Scaletta Pass, if the weather permits,
with a long tough uphill!” Rabensteiner forecast.
Concerningly, rain is expected to fall throughout the day and into Friday, with the Swiss Federal
Office of Meteorology and Climatology issuing a rainfall warning for the high mountains around
the Scaletta Pass. The highest point of the race, at 2 606 metres above sea level, is particularly
exposed to high winds, low clouds, lightning strikes, and dangerously low temperatures even in
summer. “Due to continued adverse weather conditions forecast for Friday, 21 August, Swiss
Epic has made the decision to adapt Stage 3,” the official statement reads.
“Stage 3 will now start and finish in La Punt and will no longer follow the planned route to Davos
via Scaletta Pass. Riders will take on a revised route of approximately 61km with 1 650 metres of
climbing, utilising trails not ridden during the previous two race days. The start time for the first
riders will be 07:30. Following the stage, riders will be transferred to Davos by shuttle/bus. Bikes
will be transported separately by truck.”
“This decision has been made in consultation with local authorities and weather experts. Key
considerations included the forecast of low cloud cover, which will limit helicopter rescue
capabilities if required, continued rainfall increasing the risk of trail deterioration and localised
landslides, and cold conditions at higher elevations along the original route. Thunderstorm
activity also remains a factor. The event organisers, together with local authorities and weather
experts, continue to monitor conditions closely. The safety of our riders, volunteers and event
staff remains our highest priority,” the statement concluded.
To follow the action from the rerouted third stage, mountain biking fans can tune into the Swiss
Epic’s live broadcast on the Epic Series YouTube Channel here. Daily highlights from the race
can also be viewed on the YouTube Channel, and the excitement from the trails of Graubünden
will be shared on the Swiss Epic Facebook page and @swiss_epic on Instagram. To find out
more, visit www.epic-series.com/swissepic.
The Elite Men’s podium at the end of Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic from La Punt to La Punt, Engadin, Graubünden, Switzerland on 20 August 2026. Photo by Nick Muzik.
2026 Swiss Epic Results
Elite Men’s Stage 2 Results:
1. Honeycomb 226ers: Marc Pritzen & Felix Stehli (43:13 | +10 Time Penalty)
2. Torpado Kenda FSA 1: Fabian Rabensteiner & Casey South (43:34 | +21)
3. SCOTT Racing 2: Stefano Goria & Davide Foccoli (43:54 | +41)
4. Buff-BH: Wout Alleman & Martin Stosek (44:17 | +1:04)
5. Klimatiza Orbea: David Valero & José Dias (44:33 | +1:20)
The Honeycomb 226ers meet the press after winning Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic on their 32-inch-wheeled bikes, on 20 August 2026. Photo by Nick Muzik.
Elite Women’s Stage 2 Results:
1. KTM Spada | Brenta Brakes – Olympia: Anna Weinbeer & Claudia Peretti (51:51)
2. Torpado Kenda FSA Women: Katazina Sosna-Pinele & Giorgia Marchet (52:32 | +41)
3. Massi ISB Sport: Tessa Kortekaas & Amanda Bohlin (52:52 | +1:01)
4. Sportograf.com: Bettina Janas & Kim Ames (56:27 | +4:36)
5. Royally Exhausted | Seawork Cares: Julika Pahl & Linda Detering (56:37 | +4:46)
Elite Men’s General Classification after Stage 2:
1. Engadin La Punt: Fadri Barandun & Andrin Beeli (4:15:29)
2. Torpado Kenda FSA 1: Fabian Rabensteiner & Casey South (4:18:39 | +3:10)
3. Honeycomb 226ers: Marc Pritzen & Felix Stehli (4:19:00 | +3:31)
4. SCOTT Racing 2: Stefano Goria & Davide Foccoli (4:19:37 | +4:08)
5. Klimatiza Orbea 2: Samuele Porro & Marc Stutzmann (4:20:16 | +4:47)
Elite Women’s General Classification after Stage 2:
1. KTM Spada | Brenta Brakes – Olympia: Anna Weinbeer & Claudia Peretti (5:16:39)
2. Sportograf.com: Bettina Janas & Kim Ames (5:33:11 | +16:32)
3. Torpado Kenda FSA Women: Katazina Sosna-Pinele & Giorgia Marchet (5:37:46 | +21:07)
4. Massi ISB Sport: Tessa Kortekaas & Amanda Bohlin (5:40:42 | +24:03)
5. Royally Exhausted | Seawork Cares: Julika Pahl & Linda Detering (5:50:31 | +33:52)
To view the full results from the 2026 Swiss Epic, click here.