The Swiss Epic is an annual mountain bike stage race held in the Canton of Grisons, Switzerland. It has been accredited as hors catégorie (beyond categorisation) by the Union Cycliste Internationale. It is part of the global Epic Series and was once inspired by the pinnacle event of it, the Cape Epic.
 | |
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | August–September |
| Region | Canton of Grisons, Switzerland |
| Discipline | Mountain bike racing |
| Competition | Epic Series |
| Type | Stage race |
| Organiser | Swiss Epic AG |
| Web site | swiss-epic |
| History | |
| First edition | 2014 |
| Editions | 6 |
| First winner | See Winners |
| Most wins |
|
| Most recent | See Winners |
Alongside the Cape Epic and The Pioneer in New Zealand, the Swiss Epic is considered a Legend Race. Legend races are the top category of the global Epic Series, and any rider resolute enough to complete three Epic Series races, including the pinnacle event, the Absa Cape Epic, gets awarded with Epic Legend status. This status is immortalised in the form of an Epic Legend medal.
History
editThe Swiss Epic was founded in 2014. Joko Vogel, Dany Gehrig, and Thomas Frischknecht had the idea of a multi-day stage race in Switzerland whereby the Cape Epic in South Africa has been used a model.
In 2014, two months after the first edition, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) granted the hors catégorie.[1]
In 2018, the parliament of the Canton of Grisons signed a five-year contract with the Swiss Epic that they spend 300.000 CHF each year.[2] Therefore, the race was relocated from the Canton of Valais to the Canton of Grisons. The Swiss Epic is considered the European equivalent of the Cape Epic.[3]
Editions
edit| Year | Date | Start | Finish | Altitude (m) | Distance (km) | Teams | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 15. – 20. September | Verbier | Zermatt | 15.000 | 400 | 101 | [4] |
| 2015 | 14. – 19. September | Verbier | Zermatt | 15.000 | 400 | 133 | [5] |
| 2016 | 12. – 17. September | Zermatt | Verbier | 12.500 | 360 | 119 | [6] |
| 2017 | 11. – 16. September | Grächen | Zermatt | 12.000 | 350 | 82 | [7] |
| 2018 | 11. – 15. September | Bettmeralp | Zermatt | 12.550 | 331 | 168 | [8] |
| 2019 | 20. – 24. August | Davos | Davos | 12.000 | 350 | 287 | [9] |
| 2020 | 18. – 22. August | Laax | Davos | 12.250 | 320 | 207 | |
| 2021 | 17. – 21. August | St. Moritz | Davos | 12.000 | 350 | 400 |
Winners
edit
Men's winnersedit
|
Women's winnersedit
|
Masters winnersedit
|
Grand Masters winnersedit
|
Mixed winners
edit| Year | Team | Winners | Time | Teams | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | BiXS – Wheeler |  Bärti Bucher (CHE) Milena Landtwing (CHE) |
24:19:15,8 | 26 | [10] |
| 2015 | Giant Team Obwalden | Hans Flück (CHE) Anita Bucher (CHE) |
28:52:44,2 | 20 | [11] |
| 2016 | R'ADYS SCOTT | Adrian Ruhstaller (CHE) Cornelia Hug (CHE) |
21:47:04,0 | 15 | [12] |
| 2017 | CrazyVeloShop SCOTT / TG-Hütten |
Bendicht Küpfer (CHE) Viviane Spielmann (CHE) |
25:55:11,0 | 7 | [13] |
| 2018 | Fitness Maréchal | Florence Darbellay (CHE) Jérémy Huguenin (CHE) |
22:06:37,1 | 15 | [14] |
| 2019 | Team VeloCity |  Anders Seim (NOR) Synne Steinsland (NOR) |
21:30:39,6 | 29 | |
| 2020 | Velosolutions #pumpforpeace |  Cherie Redecker (ZAF) Tumelo Makae (LSO) |
20:27:11 | 20 |
References
edit- ^ "Medienmappe" (PDF). Cape Epic (in German). 11 August 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- ^ "1,5 Millionen für "einzigartige Mountainbike-Veranstaltung"" [1,5 million for a "unique mountain bike event"]. Die Südostschweiz (in German). 23 August 2018. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ "Garantiert weitere Gäste in Graubünden" [Guaranteed more guests in Grisons]. Die Südostschweiz (in German). 21 August 2018. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ "Perskindol Swiss Epic". Swiss Epic. 14 October 2013. Archived from the original on 28 April 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- ^ "PERSKINDOL SWISS EPIC 2015 in Kürze" (PDF). Swiss Epic (in German). March 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- ^ "PORTRAIT". Swiss Epic. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- ^ "PORTRAIT". Swiss Epic. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- ^ "2018 Route". Swiss Epic. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- ^ "The Route". Swiss Epic. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Gesamtwertung – Ergebnisse". Datasport. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Perskindol Swiss Epic 2015". Datasport. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d "3. PERSKINDOL SWISS EPIC". race|result. 8 January 2019. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d "4. SWISS EPIC". race|result. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "Swiss Epic Race Results". Epic Series. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
