The Perskindol Swiss Epic is a six-day mountain bike stage race with no true equal. The 4th edition is taking place from 11 to 16 September 2017. Once again, the course will cover beautiful singletrack in the heart of the Valais, offering a mountain biking, competitive and travel experience unlike any other bike race. Next year’s edition again holds various exciting new features to look forward to.
New Swiss Epic route from Grächen via Leukerbad to Zermatt
In 2017 the Swiss Epicsets off from the traditional Valais mountain village of Grächen, on through the spa destination of Leukerbad to world-famous Zermatt. This is the first time this combination of stopover locations is being used, offering a largely new course once again. Naturally, the focus is still on flowing singletrack with breathtaking views. The “flow day” introduced in 2016, which covers more metres of descent than ascent, will feature again in the upcoming edition – but this time as stage 3. Both formats, the Swiss Epic and Swiss Epic Flow, will stay similar in terms of overall length and difficulty, perhaps slightly less demanding than the year before.
Two days to get your Swiss Epic Flow on
The shorter race format for the Epic 2 Day, which sees teams join the race for the last two stages, can now also be booked in the Flow format with certain neutralised uphill sections travelled using shuttles or cableways. This Flow weekend covers a distance of around 80 km with roughly 2,200 m of ascent and almost 5,000 m of descent, opening Swiss Epic up also to less ambitious and rather downhill-focussed mountain bikers.
Both the Flow and Epic format of the Perskindol Swiss Epic’s shorter 2-day-version should prove particularly popular this coming year. The Epic 2 Day participants still get the real stage-race experience with the transfer from Leukerbad to Zermatt in stage 4, and the incredible backdrop of the final stage’s circuit at the foot of the Matterhorn is also sure to be a highlight.
New Swiss Epic race packages
Team starting positions for the Swiss Epic will continue to be sold only as part of an all-inclusive package, which includes race entry, a range of standards of accommodation, meals, in-race nutrition, luggage transportation, massages, bike washing services and much more. All you have to do is race your mountain bike.
All you need to do is race.
The Epic 2 Day packages are now also available in the cheaper Budget and Camper versions. This means the Swiss Epic can now be experienced from only 345CHF per person. Also this year, the Heaven and Comfort packages with five-star and three-star accommodation are on sale at a lower price. A week-long mountain bike adventure with three-star accommodation, for example, is now available for CHF 1,995 per person. An overview of all packages and services is available online.
Why race the Swiss Epic?
The focus of the Perskindol Swiss Epic lies on experiencing a mountain bike adventure on flowing singletrack in an alpine surrounding with breathtaking panoramic views, quintessential Swiss experiences, and enjoying the international bike community. Starting places are limited and are only sold as an all-inclusive package with full-board accommodation, luggage transfer, massages, bike-wash, and just about anything you will need for the week. Off the race course and away from the timing, this makes the Swiss Epic a ready-made mountain biking holiday.
If you’re on the fence about whether the Swiss Epic is ‘worth it’, factor in what’s on offer, but don’t forget to look at the experience more broadly. Switzerland has some of the best trails in the world to ride a mountain bike on. The Swiss Epic opens up more trails just for the race, and the event puts you with a few hundred like-minded people to race them with. From World Champions to amateurs alike.
The organisers of the Perskindol Swiss Epic are mountain bike legend Thomas Frischknecht, Joko Vogel and Dany Gehrig.
Need more details? Head to their website.