![\"ccs-62657-0-39722200-1537102107.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-39722200-1537102107.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Keegan Swenson of Team USA during Stage 5 of the 2018 Perskindol Swiss Epic held in Zermatt, Valais, Switzerland on 15 September 2018. Photo by Nick Muzik.<\/span><\/p>\nIn the men\u2019s category, overall race leaders Team Scott-SRAM\u2019s Matthias Stirnemann and Andri Frischknecht fall into this \u2018experienced\u2019 category. Both riding with different partners at the 2017 Absa Cape Epic, Stirnemann won the overall title, riding with world champion Nino Schurter and Frischknecht took 2 stage wins, paired with Dutch champion Michiel Van Der Heijden.<\/p>\n
Team USA Red held the morning\u2019s good morale all the way till the end, taking the final stage. \u201cIt\u2019s an amazing feeling to win the final stage here. We\u2019re super stoked!\u201d said a delighted Keegan Swenson. In the women\u2019s field, the skies cleared and Team Canada turned out another super performance, taking their third stage win of the week. \u201cWe had an awesome ride today and we can see the Matterhorn \u2013 it gave us extra motivation!\u201d said Pendrel, Olympic medallist and two-time world champion.<\/p>\n
Scott-SRAM\u2019s lead going into Stage 5 at the 2018 Perskindol Swiss Epic was comfortable, at over 15 minutes on Team BiXS, but Looser and Stauffer had USA Red\u2019s Blevins and Swenson breathing down their necks, 5 minutes behind. In the women, Team Canada\u2019s Catharine Pendrel and Haley Smith has 24 minutes on Th\u00f6mus RN\u2019s Keller and Stirnemann. Both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s leading teams looked set to take a no-risk approach to Stage 5, technical descents, opening the door for stage win hunters.<\/p>\n The course around Zermatt is packed with some spectacular scenery, even by Alpine standards. The Fluhalp at 2606m shows off a 360\u00b0 view of no less than 38 mountain peaks. Dropping downs through Jojo and Moostrail, the riders, from the top professionals to the dedicated amateurs, kept their eyes firmly fixed on the trails to ensure that they made it home to enjoy a hero\u2019s welcome and the legendary Finishers Party in Zermatt.<\/p>\n The front of the field saw some white-hot racing. Although a group of seven teams stayed intact till T\u00e4sch, it fragmented quickly with the powerful efforts of Keegan Swenson and Christopher Blevins of Team USA Red. By the time they reached the Fluhalp service station, they had a 45 second gap over Scott-SRAM and 1 minute 50 seconds over Team BiXS. \u201cKeegan set a high tempo, just high enough to get a gap but not too high to blow up. Then we just held on\u2026\u201d said Blevins, recent silver medallist at the under 23 world championships.\u201d<\/p>\n It was do or die on the descent. With Team USA Red up ahead, Scott-SRAM and Team BiXS set off after them, chasing a second stage win. Looser and Stauffer had more at stake \u2013 second overall was under threat with the charging Swenson and Blevins. \u201cWe went all-in to save second on GC \u2013 if we had a flat we would get third anyway, but if we did not go all-in, we would also get third,\u201d said Looser, current Swiss marathon champion.<\/p>\n Despite the determined efforts of Scott-SRAM and Team BiXS, Swenson and Blevins held on to their slender lead on the descent, taking the last right hand bend in style. A minute and a half back, Scott-SRAM arrived in the race village, knowing they\u2019d done enough to win the overall title. The pair were greeted by two mountain biking legends at the finish line \u2013 Gary Fisher (forefather of the sport) and Thomas Frischknecht (Olympic medallist, multiple world champion and co-founder of the Perskindol Swiss Epic). Young Andri Frischknecht said, \u201cIt was great to finally win the overall, and a very nice surprise to see my dad at the end!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>Michiel Van Aelbroeck during Stage 5 of the 2018 Perskindol Swiss Epic held in Zermatt, Valais, Switzerland on 15 September 2018. Photo by Nick Muzik.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Artur Wall and Nils Friedrich during Stage 5 of the 2018 Perskindol Swiss Epic held in Zermatt, Valais, Switzerland on 15 September 2018. Photo by Nick Muzik.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Riders during Stage 5 of the 2018 Perskindol Swiss Epic held in Zermatt, Valais, Switzerland on 15 September 2018. Photo by Nick Muzik.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Photo by Marius Maasewerd.<\/span><\/p>\n