Where the KMC duo Roel Verhoeven and Tim Smeenge were spared from bad luck in the first three stages, they also had to deal with their share of setbacks in the final two stages. A strong start of the fourth stage from Arosa to Davos was disrupted after Smeenge damaged his rear derailleur in a crash.
“We had started the first climb on the way to Davos well and were in 8th position when I went down in the descent and my derailleur stopped working optimally. Despite this problem, we again enjoyed the environment and the challenging route, but we dropped back to 15th place in the day result of this Queen’s stage over 74 kilometers. “, says Smeenge.
The final stage with start and finish in Davos took the bikers from the start up to an altitude of more than 2300 meters. From the top Verhoeven and Smeenge dove back down to Davos via the “Panorama” trails. In this challenging stage it was again real mountain biking over beautiful single tracks, hard climbs and technical descents. Unfortunately, I hit a stone on the last descent and we had to repair my tire, which caused us to drop back from 13th to 15th in the day result. In the general classification we also dropped back to 14th place. Very unfortunate, but we look back on a great event with satisfaction. “, says Verhoeven. The end victory went to the Swiss duo Schurter / Forster.
Photos: Whyex Productions