![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SE26_S2_BEST_SamClark_0868.jpeg\")
Action during Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic from La Punt to La Punt, Engadin, Graub\u00fcnden, Switzerland on 20 August 2026. Photo by Sam Clark.\u00a0<\/p>\nPress Release from the Swiss Epic:<\/p>\n
Action during Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic from La Punt to La Punt, Engadin, Graub\u00fcnden, Switzerland on 20 August 2026. Photo by Sam Clark.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Honeycomb 226ers became the first team to win a stage at an Epic Series stage race on 32-inch<\/p>\n
wheels when Marc Pritzen and Felix Stehli won Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic. The South<\/p>\n
African\/Swiss pairing charged through a shortened 24-kilometre time trial course to win the day<\/p>\n
in 43 minutes and 13 seconds and move up in the general classification standings. The Elite<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s race leaders, Anna Weinbeer and Claudia Peretti, of KTM Spada Brenta Brakes \u2013<\/p>\n
Olympia, doubled up, adding Stage 2 honours to their Stage 1 victory, firming up their grip on the<\/p>\n
orange CIOVITA jerseys in the rain and mud of La Punt.<\/p>\n
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Thursday, 20 August, presented significant challenges to the Swiss Epic race organisers and the<\/p>\n
2026 participants. Thunderstorms had rolled across the Alps, bringing lightning with them and<\/p>\n
making it dangerous to race at high elevations. As a result, the 52-kilometre time trial course,<\/p>\n
which had been set to start on the Bernina Pass, 600 metres higher than La Punt in the Engadin<\/p>\n
Valley, was shortened to just 24 kilometres and confined to the lower altitudes around La Punt,<\/p>\n
Samedan, and Bever. This suited the Honeycomb 226ers and KTM Spada Brenta Brakes \u2013<\/p>\n
Olympia teams to perfection as they charged to stage victories. In the process, Marc Pritzen and<\/p>\n
Felix Stehli made history, as the first team to win aboard 32-inch wheels, while Anna Weinbeer<\/p>\n
and Claudia Peretti added a further 41 seconds to their general classification advantage.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SE26_S2_BEST_MariusHoller_1966.jpeg\")
Barti BUCHER and Hansj\u00fcrg GERBER during Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic from La Punt to La Punt, Engadin, Graub\u00fcnden, Switzerland on 20 August 2026. Photo by Marius Holler. <\/p>\n
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\u201cToday I suffered for only one hour, rather than 4 and a half hours,\u201d Peretti joked after crossing<\/p>\n
the finish line. \u201cAs always, Anna [Weinbeer] is super strong. She made all the racing, with me<\/p>\n
behind suffering. But we managed to finish with the others, so we took the win.\u201d<\/p>\n
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With the course changes and the threat of lightning predicted to intensify in the afternoon, the<\/p>\n
usual time trial rules were relaxed. Teams were allowed to draft one another and started at 20-<\/p>\n
second intervals, making it inevitable that there would be some collaboration on course.<\/p>\n
Torpado Kenda FSA\u2019s men\u2019s teams were best placed to exploit these factors, but it also aided<\/p>\n
the women in orange.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SE26_S2_BEST_MariusHoller_1983.jpeg\")
Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic from La Punt to La Punt, Engadin, Graub\u00fcnden, Switzerland on 20 August 2026. Photo by Marius Holler.<\/p>\n
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Starting last of the Elite Women\u2019s teams, Weinbeer and Peretti charged through the early<\/p>\n
kilometres until they caught the Torpado Kenda FSA Women and Massi ISB Sport teams. The<\/p>\n
Sportograf.com pairing of Bettina Janas and Kim Ames had dropped out of contention for stage<\/p>\n
honours, and were in a battle against themselves, fighting to avoid catastrophic time losses.<\/p>\n
Janas and Ames were passed early in the stage by Weinbeer and Peretti, while ahead, Katazina<\/p>\n
Sosna-Pinele and Giorgia Marchet had caught Tessa Kortekaas and Amanda Bohlin.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SE26_S2_BEST_Michael-Chiaretta_0270.jpeg\")
LEADER JERSEY MASTER MEN during Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic from La Punt to La Punt, Engadin, Graub\u00fcnden, Switzerland on 20 August 2026. Photo by Michael Chiaretta. <\/p>\n
When KTM Spada Brenta Brakes \u2013 Olympia team joined the Sosna-Pinele group, their advantage<\/p>\n
was effectively 40 seconds to the Torpado Kenda FSA Women and 60 seconds to the Massi ISB<\/p>\n
Sport combination, with Kortekaas and Bohlin also conceding 20 seconds to Sosna-Pinele and<\/p>\n
Marchet. All three teams appeared happy with the situation, and no further attempts to attack<\/p>\n
were made.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThanks to the organisation for rebuilding this stage,\u201d Marchet praised. \u201cThe thunderstorm was<\/p>\n
going to be too dangerous on the pass, but the organisation made another plan quickly, which<\/p>\n
allowed us to still race, and race safely.\u201d<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SE26_S2_Best_NickMuzik_7135.jpeg\")
Celebrating the finish of Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic from La Punt to La Punt, Engadin, Graub\u00fcnden, Switzerland on 20 August 2026. Photo by Nick Muzik.<\/p>\n
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\u201cToday was short, but very hard. We pushed from the first to the last metre,\u201d Marchet continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Katazina [Sosna-Pinele] and my legs were good so we could push all the way. We were able<\/p>\n
to put power down on the flats and on the climb, then took the downhill safely before pushing to<\/p>\n
the finish. We are happy with second today.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Both Marchet and Weinbeer expressed their happiness at an unexpectedly early finish too. By<\/p>\n
09:00, their racing and podium duties were completed, leaving the elite teams with a long<\/p>\n
afternoon to unwind. \u201cI enjoyed today, enjoyed racing with Claudia. We pushed hard and did a<\/p>\n
good job. And now we have a long day to recover,\u201d Weinbeer smiled. \u201cToday the afternoon is very<\/p>\n
long; we can chill a bit, maybe watch something on TV and drink a coffee,\u201d Peretti added in clear delight.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SE26_S2_BEST_SamClark_0598-1.jpeg\")
Riders during Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic from La Punt to La Punt, Engadin, Graub\u00fcnden, Switzerland on 20 August 2026. Photo by Sam Clark.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The stage result saw KTM Spada | Brenta Brakes \u2013 Olympia gain 41 seconds over Torpado<\/p>\n
Kenda FSA Women, with Massi ISB Sport third at 61 seconds back. Vitally, Sportograf.com<\/p>\n
lost 4 minutes and 36 seconds on the day, but managed to hang onto second overall. Janas,<\/p>\n
who may have been struggling after her crash on Stage 1, and Ames slipped to 16 minutes and 32<\/p>\n
seconds off the race leaders, Weinbeer and Peretti. Sosna-Pinele and Marchet are 4 minutes<\/p>\n
and 35 seconds down on Janas and Ames heading into Stage 3. Kortekaas and Bohlin remain<\/p>\n
fourth, a further 3 minutes back, and the Royally Exhausted Seawork Cares team of Julika Pahl<\/p>\n
and Linda Detering are fifth overall.<\/p>\n
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In the Elite Men\u2019s race, the day one winners, Fadri Barandun and Andrin Beeli, were under<\/p>\n
pressure from the off as they watched Klimatiza Orbea set blistering times at the early time<\/p>\n
checks. Having lost 21 minutes on Stage 1, David Valero and Jos\u00e9 Dias were among the first<\/p>\n
men off the start ramp. Their times would later be eclipsed, but they set the benchmark to<\/p>\n
chase.<\/p>\n
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SCOTT Racing 2\u2019s Stefano Goria and Davide Foccoli, as well as Wout Alleman and Martin<\/p>\n
Stosek, of Buff-BH, went faster than Valero and Dias. Both squads had been solid, if not<\/p>\n
spectacular, on the first day and were eager to make amends on the time trial. The short course<\/p>\n
meant that they had limited opportunity to gain time, but Goria and Foccoli did move up on the<\/p>\n
general classification standings after setting the third-best time on the day.<\/p>\n
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Torpado Kenda FSA were second fastest, besting all but the stage winners, the Honeycomb<\/p>\n
226ers. \u201cIt was a short day, a fast day, but a good day,\u201d Casey South began, as he explained<\/p>\n
how Stage 2 played out. \u201cWe had a plan with Gioele [de Cosmo] and Jakob [Dorigoni of<\/p>\n
Torpado Kenda FSA 2]. They started just 20 seconds ahead of us, so they took the first<\/p>\n
kilometres easy, and we went full gas to catch them as soon as possible. Together the four<\/p>\n
of us were able to swap off, and it was a big help.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Working together, the Torpado Kenda FSA squad made short work of the first 22 kilometres,<\/p>\n
setting the best time to that point, but once Gioele de Cosmo and Jakob Dorigoni were spent,<\/p>\n
South and Fabian Rabensteiner were unable to match the speed of the flying Honeycomb<\/p>\n
226ers pair. Pritzen and Stehli even recovered from a wrong turn, where they went briefly off<\/p>\n
course. The error saw them receive a 10-second time penalty because they rejoined the course<\/p>\n
in a different place than where they departed it. Nonetheless, Pritzen and Stehli set the fastest<\/p>\n
time by 21 seconds.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s great! After our stage win at the Absa Cape Epic, winning a stage at the Swiss Epic and now<\/p>\n
with Marc [Pritzen] on the 32-inch too, it\u2019s cool,\u201d Stehli beamed, referencing his Stage 3 victory<\/p>\n
at the Absa Cape Epic on the Stoll P32.<\/p>\n
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Pritzen joined Stehli for a Swiss training camp ahead of the Swiss Epic and used the time to not<\/p>\n
only acclimatise to the altitude and trails of the Swiss Alps but also to familiarise himself with<\/p>\n
the 32-inch wheels of his new bike. \u201cI think once the 32-incher starts rolling it\u2019s really an<\/p>\n
advantage,\u201d Pritzen noted.<\/p>\n
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\u201cBut we also had good legs today,\u201d the South African XCM champion acknowledged. \u201cWe caught<\/p>\n
the team who started ahead of us [Klimatiza Orbea 2\u2019s Marc Stutzmann and Samuele Porro] and<\/p>\n
then Marc was just hammering it,\u201d Stehli continued. \u201cThere are still three stages to go. We\u2019ll be<\/p>\n
giving our best, and we know the trails quite well from the recons we did over the last couple of<\/p>\n
weeks, so we\u2019ll see what we can achieve by the time we reach the final Davos finish line on Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Honeycomb 226ers have already gained a place on the general classification standings,<\/p>\n
moving up to third as Torpado Kenda FSA 2 slipped out of the top five. Pritzen and Stehli are now<\/p>\n
3 minutes and 21 seconds off the race leaders, Barandun and Beeli. SCOTT Racing 2 are fourth,<\/p>\n
and Klimatiza Orbea 2 are fifth.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SE26_S2_BEST_SamClark_0911.jpeg\")
Riders during Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic from La Punt to La Punt, Engadin, Graub\u00fcnden, Switzerland on 20 August 2026. Photo by Sam Clark.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Perhaps more pertinently, after their storming ride on Stage 1, Barandun and Beeli lost time on<\/p>\n
Stage 2. The Engadin La Punt pair could only manage the eighth fastest time on the day, ceding<\/p>\n
94 seconds to Pritzen and Stehli, as well as 75 seconds to Rabensteiner and South. Engadin La<\/p>\n
Punt thus holds a 3 minutes and 10 seconds advantage over Torpado Kenda FSA 1 going into<\/p>\n
Stage 3. \u201cTomorrow will be a hard, tough stage on the Scaletta Pass, if the weather permits,<\/p>\n
with a long tough uphill!\u201d Rabensteiner forecast.<\/p>\n
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Concerningly, rain is expected to fall throughout the day and into Friday, with the Swiss Federal<\/p>\n
Office of Meteorology and Climatology issuing a rainfall warning for the high mountains around<\/p>\n
the Scaletta Pass. The highest point of the race, at 2 606 metres above sea level, is particularly<\/p>\n
exposed to high winds, low clouds, lightning strikes, and dangerously low temperatures even in<\/p>\n
summer. \u201cDue to continued adverse weather conditions forecast for Friday, 21 August, Swiss<\/p>\n
Epic has made the decision to adapt Stage 3,\u201d the official statement reads.<\/p>\n
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\u201cStage 3 will now start and finish in La Punt and will no longer follow the planned route to Davos<\/p>\n
via Scaletta Pass. Riders will take on a revised route of approximately 61km with 1 650 metres of<\/p>\n
climbing, utilising trails not ridden during the previous two race days. The start time for the first<\/p>\n
riders will be 07:30. Following the stage, riders will be transferred to Davos by shuttle\/bus. Bikes<\/p>\n
will be transported separately by truck.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cThis decision has been made in consultation with local authorities and weather experts. Key<\/p>\n
considerations included the forecast of low cloud cover, which will limit helicopter rescue<\/p>\n
capabilities if required, continued rainfall increasing the risk of trail deterioration and localised<\/p>\n
landslides, and cold conditions at higher elevations along the original route. Thunderstorm<\/p>\n
activity also remains a factor. The event organisers, together with local authorities and weather<\/p>\n
experts, continue to monitor conditions closely. The safety of our riders, volunteers and event<\/p>\n
staff remains our highest priority,\u201d the statement concluded.<\/p>\n
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To follow the action from the rerouted third stage, mountain biking fans can tune into the Swiss<\/p>\n
Epic\u2019s live broadcast on the Epic Series YouTube Channel here. Daily highlights from the race<\/p>\n
can also be viewed on the YouTube Channel, and the excitement from the trails of Graub\u00fcnden<\/p>\n
will be shared on the Swiss Epic Facebook page and @swiss_epic on Instagram. To find out<\/p>\n
more, visit www.epic-series.com\/swissepic.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SE26_S2_Best_NickMuzik_7242-1601x1067-bfeb66e.jpeg\"){kind=spacer}
The Elite Men\u2019s podium at the end of Stage 2 of the 2026 Swiss Epic from La Punt to La Punt, Engadin, Graub\u00fcnden, Switzerland on 20 August 2026. Photo by Nick Muzik.<\/p>\n
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2026 Swiss Epic Results<\/p>\n
Elite Men\u2019s Stage 2 Results:<\/p>\n
1. Honeycomb 226ers: Marc Pritzen & Felix Stehli (43:13 | +10 Time Penalty)<\/p>\n
2. Torpado Kenda FSA 1: Fabian Rabensteiner & Casey South (43:34 | +21)<\/p>\n
3. SCOTT Racing 2: Stefano Goria & Davide Foccoli (43:54 | +41)<\/p>\n
4. Buff-BH: Wout Alleman & Martin Stosek (44:17 | +1:04)<\/p>\n
5. Klimatiza Orbea: David Valero & Jos\u00e9 Dias (44:33 | +1:20)<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SE26_S2_Best_NickMuzik_7191.jpeg\")
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Elite Women\u2019s Stage 2 Results:<\/p>\n
1. KTM Spada | Brenta Brakes \u2013 Olympia: Anna Weinbeer & Claudia Peretti (51:51)<\/p>\n
2. Torpado Kenda FSA Women: Katazina Sosna-Pinele & Giorgia Marchet (52:32 | +41)<\/p>\n
3. Massi ISB Sport: Tessa Kortekaas & Amanda Bohlin (52:52 | +1:01)<\/p>\n
4. Sportograf.com: Bettina Janas & Kim Ames (56:27 | +4:36)<\/p>\n
5. Royally Exhausted | Seawork Cares: Julika Pahl & Linda Detering (56:37 | +4:46)<\/p>\n
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Elite Men\u2019s General Classification after Stage 2:<\/p>\n
1. Engadin La Punt: Fadri Barandun & Andrin Beeli (4:15:29)<\/p>\n
2. Torpado Kenda FSA 1: Fabian Rabensteiner & Casey South (4:18:39 | +3:10)<\/p>\n
3. Honeycomb 226ers: Marc Pritzen & Felix Stehli (4:19:00 | +3:31)<\/p>\n
4. SCOTT Racing 2: Stefano Goria & Davide Foccoli (4:19:37 | +4:08)<\/p>\n
5. Klimatiza Orbea 2: Samuele Porro & Marc Stutzmann (4:20:16 | +4:47)<\/p>\n
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Elite Women\u2019s General Classification after Stage 2:<\/p>\n
1. KTM Spada | Brenta Brakes \u2013 Olympia: Anna Weinbeer & Claudia Peretti (5:16:39)<\/p>\n
2. Sportograf.com: Bettina Janas & Kim Ames (5:33:11 | +16:32)<\/p>\n
3. Torpado Kenda FSA Women: Katazina Sosna-Pinele & Giorgia Marchet (5:37:46 | +21:07)<\/p>\n
4. Massi ISB Sport: Tessa Kortekaas & Amanda Bohlin (5:40:42 | +24:03)<\/p>\n
5. Royally Exhausted | Seawork Cares: Julika Pahl & Linda Detering (5:50:31 | +33:52)<\/p>\n
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