Results & Recap: Swiss Epic Stage 4
Scott Racing Claw Back Time
Stage 4 of the 2026 Swiss Epic on Saturday, 22 August, was packed with singletrack in Trail Paradise Davos, but to enjoy the fun descents the teams had to climb too, and this suited Scott Racing 2. Stefano Goria and Davide Foccoli once again took the fight to their rivals, gaining time and a place in the general classification standings. KTM Spada Brenta Brakes – Olympia’s Anna Weinbeer and Claudia Peretti also gained more time in the overall standings, winning their fourth stage of the race.
After three days in the Engadin Valley, around La Punt, the teams were bussed to Davos for the final two stages of the 2026 race. The first of those was Stage 4, which features a challenging 55-kilometre course complete with 2 150 metres of climbing. Within the first 8 kilometres, the teams would need to conquer the ascent of the Parsenn to the Höhenweg, at 2 322 metres above sea level; thereafter, trails flowed back to the valley floor and up lesser but still brutal climbs until cresting the final test of the stage and racing back to Davos on the Bolgen Trail.
Though Fadri Barandun and Andrin Beeli were confident, given their local trail knowledge and their climbing prowess, it was the Goria and Foccoli who took the fight to the other contenders for overall honours. Scott Racing 2 whittled the lead group down on the Parsenn Climb until only the Engadin La Punt and the two Torpado Kenda FSA teams could follow. Klimatiza Orbea’s David Valero and José Dias were able to reduce their deficit to the front of the race on the Panorama Trail descent, but they were never able to bridge back to the leaders.
Scott Racing 2 kept exerting pressure until after Service Station 2, at the 25-kilometre mark, then they attacked again on the Wolfgang Climb. As had been the case on Stage 3, Gioele de Cosmo and Jakob Dorigoni followed. Barandun and Beeli kept the quartet in front in view for nearly 10 kilometres, until Torpado Kenda FSA 2 cracked and slipped back. Near simultaneously, Torpado Kenda FSA 1’s Fabian Rabensteiner and Casey South lost contact with the Engadin La Punt pair. This meant that the general classification was in flux, heading into the final 10 kilometres of the stage. “I felt really strong today; we are in really good shape, and Davide [Foccoli] was flying,” Goria stated. “He pushed hard all day. And I think he believed more than me in this victory.”
Goria and Foccoli powered through the closing kilometres, stretching their lead from 20 to 51 seconds by the finish line. De Cosmo and Dorigoni were second across the line, 2 seconds ahead of Barandun and Beeli. Rabensteiner and South had to settle for fourth, with Valero and Dias in fifth. Marc Pritzen and Felix Stehli endured a less-than-ideal day, ceding 5 and a half minutes to Scott Racing 2 and slipping down the general classification standings as a result. “Now we look to tomorrow; we will go all in again to try to win the stage and this stage race,” Goria confirmed.
“I think we did a good job at the end of the day,” Beeli summarised, knowing that he and Barandun hold a 2-minute and 35-second buffer over SCOTT Racing 2 going into the final stage. “We’re so much higher [in the general classification] than we expected to be,” Barandun confessed. “Every day in the yellow jersey, even tomorrow. Tomorrow will be really hard, because the Scott [Racing 2] boys are very strong. To be on this level is incredible; we’re working part-time and buying our own bikes, so to be able to compete against full-time professionals is incredible.”
The final stage is set to be a humdinger. Goria and Foccoli believe they can overturn Barandun and Beeli’s advantage. Torpado Kenda 2 leapfrogged Torpado Kenda 1 into the podium positions, but only 35 seconds separate De Cosmo and Dorigoni from Rabensteiner and South, while the Honeycomb 226ers will be unhappy with their spot in fifth. Having climbed as high as third after their Stage 2 victory, Pritzen and Stehli will be hoping to finish the 2026 Swiss Epic strongly rather than sliding towards 10 minutes down on the overall standings.
One team who are only looking ahead, despite setting the pace throughout the Swiss Epic thus far, are the Elite Women’s leaders, Weinbeer and Peretti. The KTM Spada Brenta Brakes – Olympia team added a fourth stage win but show no signs of easing up. “I’m always motivated to do my best, so we’re not focused on what the time gap is; I just want to push hard and race to my best,” Weinbeer explained.
“We are happy; it’s a wonderful day,” the European and Swiss Marathon champion continued. “We had a good recovery yesterday afternoon and could push hard all day again today.” “I’m not enjoying the race as much as Anna [Weinbeer]“, Peretti joked in response. “She’s smiling all the time; I only smile on the downhills! On the uphills I can’t smile trying to follow her. No, but really, I love these trails in Davos, and I’m looking forward to more of the same tomorrow.”
A fourth dominant day allowed Weinbeer and Peretti to add another 6 minutes and 26 seconds to their overall advantage. The KTM Spada Brenta Brakes – Olympia combination’s nearest rivals on the day, and in the general classification, Katazina Sosna-Pinele and Giorgia Marchet firmed up their grip on second by putting nearly 4 minutes into Massi ISB Sport. Despite this, Tessa Kortekaas and Amanda Bohlin were also happy with how Stage 4 played out, as they gained a general classification position.
“We set the pace on the long climb to see how they [Sportograf.com] would react,” Kortekaas noted. “We know they’re good descenders so we thought they’d make up time on us on the Panorama Trail descent. But we felt good all day and were able to push hard and gain time on them to move up into third.”
Massi ISB Sport were 5 minutes faster than Bettina Janas and Kim Ames on the day. Kortekaas and Bohlin take a 2-minute and 30-second lead over the Sportograf.com team into Stage 5. Julika Pahl and Linda Detering, of Royally Exhausted Seawork Cares, remain fifth.
The grand finale of the 2026 Swiss Epic is no easy ride through Trail Paradise Davos. It features a 65-kilometre-long course with 2 350 metres of accumulated elevation gain. A jagged profile and hardly a flat metre indicate that the teams with the freshest legs after four tough days will perform best on Stage 5. To seize the overall crowns, Scott Racing 2 will not be able to wait until the mid-point of the stage to launch their attack, though. Goria and Foccoli will need to distance Barandun and Beeli on the climb to either the Junkerboden or Davos Monstein trails within the first 15 kilometres.
Results
Elite Men GC after Stage 4
- Engadin La Punt: Fadri Barandun & Andrin Beeli (9:01:31)
- SCOTT Racing 2: Stefano Goria & Davide Foccoli (9:04:06 | +2:35)
- Torpado Kenda FSA 2: Gioele de Cosmo & Jakob Dorigoni (9:05:37 | +4:06)
- Torpado Kenda FSA 1: Fabian Rabensteiner & Casey South (9:06:12 | +4:41)
- Honeycomb 226ers: Marc Pritzen & Felix Stehli (9:09:39 | +8:08)
Elite Women GC after Stage 4
- KTM Spada | Brenta Brakes – Olympia: Anna Weinbeer & Claudia Peretti (11:05:30)
- Torpado Kenda FSA Women: Katazina Sosna-Pinele & Giorgia Marchet (11:37:29 | +31:59)
- Massi ISB Sport: Tessa Kortekaas & Amanda Bohlin (11:47:29 | +42:28)
- Sportograf.com: Bettina Janas & Kim Ames (11:50:28 | +44:58)
- Royally Exhausted | Seawork Cares: Julika Pahl & Linda Detering (12:23:37 | +1:18:07)
Full results here //
| Images: Nick Muzik, Sam Clark, Michael Chiaretta, Marius Holler |