Martin Frey and Simon Stiebjahn doubled up at the Andorra Epic Pyrenees on Stage 2, adding a second stage win and 1 minute 19 seconds to their overall lead. The BUFF MEGAMO Women, Janina Wüst and Meritxell Figueras Garangou, bettered the Singer Racing men’s feats, adding 37 minutes and 36 seconds to their general classification advantage.
Stage 2 of the 2023 Andorra Epic Pyrenees saw the 210 teams take on a 58 kilometre long route, with 1 460 metres of climbing, from Pal/Arinsal to La Massana on Thursday, 6 July. The stage was won by the UCI men’s race leaders, Singer Racing, with the UCI women’s orange Ciovita jersey wearers, BUFF MEGAMO, also extending their overall advantage with a second stage victory. Martin Frey and Simon Stiebjahn’s efforts see them extend their lead to 1 minute and 47 seconds over Hans Becking and José Dias. While Janina Wüst and Meritxell Figueras Garangou’s buffer, over Ariadna Rodenas Pascual and Pilar Fernandez Hernandez, was extended to 52 minutes and 58 seconds.
The day’s adventures began pre-stage with a gondola ride from La Massana to the start in the Pal/Arinsal bike park. This meant that the starting point for the stage was 500 metres higher above sea level than the finish, and allowed for 2 165 metres of descending. Still, there were serious climbs to be conquered, with two ascents of the Coll de la Botella on the menu along with Port de Cabús and the Collada de Muntaner. There were singletracks aplenty too, with flow trails in the bike park and more technical cattle tracks higher in the mountains providing thrills aplenty.
Having taken a gondola from La Massana the stage started in the world famous Pal/Arinsal bike park. Photo by Oriol Batista | Andorra Epic Pyrenees.
These trails aided Singer Racing in their quest for stage honours. “We knew that the trails would be slippery, after the rain last night,” Frey explained. “We tried to control it from the beginning and pretty soon we were alone at the front with the BUFF MEGAMO guys. From there we just rode out tempo on the downhills, I wouldn’t say we attacked, we kept it controlled and smooth but fast. Pretty soon we had a two-minute lead, so we tried to keep it smooth and maintain that.”
In the final kilometres Becking and Dias were able to bring the deficit down by a handful of seconds, to 1 minute 19 at the finish line. This still leaves themselves with a lot to do on Friday’s Queen Stage. Though BUFF MEGAMO do have a handy buffer to SCOTT – Cala Bandida in third, on the general classification. Sergio Mantecon and Francesc Guerra Carretero conceded 11:08 on the day and now lie 18 minutes and 24 behind the men in yellow, Singer Racing.
“Tomorrow’s stage is a really hard one! I rode it last week in training,” Stiebjahn confessed. “It goes up to 2 600 metres, where the air is really thin. I expect tomorrow will be about trying to control and conserve energy whenever possible. Hopefully we can continue to ride consistently and be in the front again.”
Meritxell Figueras Garangou (leading) and Janina Wüst, of BUFF MEGAMO, extended their general classification lead, at the Andorra Epic Pyrenees, with a second stage victory on the 2023 race’s second stage. Photo by Oriol Batista | Andorra Epic Pyrenees.
In the UCI women’s race, on Stage 2, Wüst and Figueras Garangou were once again in a class apart. The BUFF MEGAMO women distanced their rivals within the first 10 kilometres and never saw Mondraker Team or Protour BCN again. “Today had much more downhill,” Wüst smiled. “It was much more technical with all the mud and rain, but that just made it more fun!”
Wüst and Figueras Garangou’s margin of victory on the stage was 37 minutes and 36 seconds. Ariadna Rodenas Pascual and Pilar Fernandez Hernandez were second, for the Mondraker Team, with Protour BCN completing the podium places. The stage and general classification order are the same in the UCI women’s competition, with BUFF MEGAMO leading the Mondraker Team and with Protour BCN maintaining third at 1 hour, 10 minutes and 8 seconds behind the leaders.
BUFF MEGAMO’s team manager, Pau Zamora Perez, is racing the Andorra Epic Pyrenees with his brother Marcel. The Zamora Brothers team in fact are completing a podium sweep of sorts for his trade team, adding a third place in the Masters category to the first and second the BUFF MEGAMO women and men’s teams are currently holding. “Today was proper mountain biking!” Zamora Perez exclaimed. “I love this type of riding and it’s great to be able to take part in an Epic Series event for a change too. The Absa Cape Epic is too hectic and there’s too much for me to do as team manager during the race, so I can’t ride it. But here it’s more relaxed so I’m able to race with my brother and we’re loving the riding in Andorra. Maybe next year I’ll do the SPAR Swiss Epic or 4Islands Croatia.”
BUFF MEGAMO team manager Pau Zamora Perez seized the opportunity provided by the more relaxed environment at the Andorra Epic Pyrenees to race himself, rather focusing all his energy on looking after his elite riders. Photo by Oriol Batista | Andorra Epic Pyrenees.
Friday’s Queen Stage, of the 2023 Andorra Epic Pyrenees, presents some formidable statistics. Not only is it the longest course of the race, at 65 kilometres, but it also features the most climbing, at 2 580 metres of elevation gain, and the ascent to the highest point in the race, Pic Maià at 2 615 metres above sea level. All indications are that Stage 3 will probably prove decisive in determining the overall champions.
To see if Signer Racing and the BUFF MEGAMO women can maintain their grips on their yellow and orange Ciovita jerseys tune in to www.epic-series.com/andorra from 09:00 (Central European Summer Time | GMT +2) on Friday, 7 July. Alternatively, mountain biking fans can share in the excitement on Instagram, @andorra_epic, and on Facebook, at Andorra Epic.
Susana Alonso Carballo, of Protour BCN, grinds her way towards the highest point of the stage. Photo by Oriol Batista | Andorra Epic Pyrenees.
2023 Andorra Epic Pyrenees Results
UCI Men | Stage 2:
- Singer Racing Team: Martin Frey & Simon Stiebjahn (2:35:59)
- BUFF MEGAMO: Hans Becking & José Dias (2:37:18 | +1:19)
- SCOTT – Cala Bandida: Sergio Mantecon & Francesc Guerra Carretero (2:47:07 | +11:08)
UCI Women | Stage 2:
- BUFF MEGAMO Women: Janina Wüst & Meritxell Figueras Garangou (3:29:23)
- 2. Mondraker Team: Ariadna Rodenas Pascual & Pilar Fernandez Hernandez (4:06:59| +37:36)
- Protour BCN: Marta Torà Milà & Susana Alonso Carballo (4:21:16 | +51:53)
Early morning coffees, with a view from the hotel in La Massana over the Pyrenees, provided the opportunity to reflect on the challenge which lay ahead. Photo by Oriol Batista | Andorra Epic Pyrenees.
UCI Men’s General Classification after Stage 2:
- Singer Racing Team: Martin Frey & Simon Stiebjahn (4:36:59)
- BUFF MEGAMO: Hans Becking & José Dias (4:38:46 | +1:47)
- SCOTT – Cala Bandida: Sergio Mantecon & Francesc Guerra Carretero (4:55:23 | +18:24)
UCI Women’s General Classification after Stage 2:
- BUFF MEGAMO Women: Janina Wüst & Meritxell Figueras Garangou (6:05:26)
- Mondraker Team: Ariadna Rodenas Pascual & Pilar Fernandez Hernandez (6:58:24 | +52:58)
- Protour BCN: Marta Torà Milà & Susana Alonso Carballo (7:15:34 | +1:10:08)
To view the full results please click here.
