Sebastian Gesche’s claim that he and Marc Stutzmann felt confident coming into the Andorra Epic paid off as the Klimatiza Orbea combination claimed the first yellow jerseys of the race with a stage win on the opening day. Thursday, 3 July, saw Stage 1 won by the Efficient Safari Essences team, though Vera Looser and Danielle du Toit had to come back from early difficulties to hold off Rosa Van Doorn and Janina Wüst.
Klimatiza Orbea out-raced Buff Megamo 2 to win the opening stage of the Andorra Epic. Photo by Oriol Batista/Andorra Epic.
Stage 1 of the 2025 Andorra Epic played out under clear skies, high in the Pyrenees, as the 275 teams undertook a deceptively tough 43-kilometre-long opening day. The route profile with climbing from the gun, to 2 140 meters at the summit of Collada de Muntaner, indicated two long climbs and two thrilling descents. Klimatiza Orbea and Efficient Safari Essences paced their efforts to perfection to seize the first leaders’ jerseys of the race with stage victories in the UCI Men’s and Women’s competitions. Marc Stutzmann and Sebastian Gesche will wear yellow, while Vera Looser and Danielle du Toit are in orange.
Starting and finishing in La Massana, Stage 1 is the only out-and-back course of the 2025 Andorra Epic. It featured an opening ascent through the Pal/Arinsal Bike Park to the highest point of the stage, followed by a descent to Vall de Seturia where a portage disrupted the riding rhythm. The second climb of the day went over Coll de la Botella and back into the bike park, where the famous La Commençal singletrack was the first T-Section of the event. This iconic trail took teams back into La Massana, where the finish line awaited.
Singer KTB fought back to finish the day in third. Photo by Oriol Batista/Andorra Epic.
For Klimatiza Orbea the first climb of the race was the first opportunity to stamp their mark on the event. Stutzmann and Gesche summited in the lead, with Jose Dias and Pablo Rodriguez Guede their nearest rivals. The top-ranked team coming into the race, Singer KTM Racing, was off the pace in the early stages, but Simon Stiebjahn and Martin Frey were able to fight back to limit their losses later in the day. The same was not true for ORBEA LEATT Speed Company. Lukas Baum and Georg Egger lost time to a puncture in the opening kilometres and then struggled with mechanicals for the remainder of the day; the Germans thus ceded over 8 minutes to the day’s victors and are effectively out of the general classification battle before it could begin in earnest.
The day’s winners thrived by focusing on themselves throughout. “We are super happy with our performance on the first stage,” Gesche smiled. “We were confident coming into the race and knew we could do something big here in Andorra. You can never say, ‘you’re going to win,’ but our legs were feeling good, even at the summit of the first climb today. So, we knew our feelings coming into the race were true, so we pushed hard over the top and onto the descent. We climbed well on the second climb too, but saw that Buff Megamo were coming back to us, so on that final descent I had to say to myself ‘Sebastian, trust yourself, trust Marc, and descend as fast are you can.’ Marc trains a lot in the Alps, so it was easier for him. He’s a good wheel to follow because he has excellent technical skills, so it is not dangerous to just stay as close to his wheel as possible. I pushed myself, and I’m really happy that we were able to sustain the difference to win the stage.”
Georg Egger and Lukas Baum lost nearly 9 minutes to a series of mechanicals on Stage 1. Photo by Gabri Amoros/Andorra Epic.
Gesche and Stutzmann’s margin of victory was a slender 16 seconds over Dias and Rodriguez Guede. 2 minutes and 39 seconds further back, Stiebjahn and Frey fought back to finish the stage in third and keep their general classification aspirations alive. Cyclis – Van den Plas and Cannondale ISB Sport were fourth and fifth on the day.
In the UCI Women’s race, Looser and Du Toit paced their efforts to perfection. The Buff Megamo women started the stage like a runaway train, summiting Collada de Muntaner first with a handy advantage over Efficient Safari Essences. “On the first descent, we passed Rosa [van Doorn] and Janina [Wüst], who were struggling with a dropper seatpost,” the 2023 Absa Cape Epic and SPAR Swiss Epic champion explained.
Janina Wüst and her Buff Megamo teammate, Rosa van Doorn, lost time with a dropper seatpost issue on the first descent. Photo by Gabri Amoros/Andorra Epic.
Even after the pre-race favourites got back up and riding again, they could not catch Efficient Safari Essences. “I’m actually really happy to be racing, because it looked like I wasn’t going to find a partner,” Looser confessed. “Danielle [du Toit] only joined me on Monday, and because of that, our preparation wasn’t entirely ideal. But I think we showed today that we will be a force to be reckoned with. We paced it well on the first climb, and after passing Buff Megamo when they had their bad luck, we were able to keep the pace really high but still safe on the downhills. Being able to win the stage is really special, especially for Danielle, as it’s her first Epic Series leaders’ jersey.”
“To be standing here, next to Vera [Looser] and to be leading a stage race is insane,” Du Toit grinned. “I feel very lucky and beyond privileged. I had a great race with her at the SPAR Swiss Epic last year, which was one of my best performances to date, but I think this tops that. Vera is a brilliant partner on and off the bike; she always helps me, and I owe this stage win to her!”
Danielle du Toit (leading) and Vera Looser won the opening stage of the 2025 Andorra Epic. Photo by Gabri Amoros/Andorra Epic.
Du Toit and Looser take a 3 minute and 42 second lead over Van Doorn and Wüst into Stage 2. 1VISION’s Antonia Daubermann and Naama Noyman are nearly 10 minutes back, locked in a battle with Ila Stow and Laura Stark of Fortress Real Estate Investment for the third spot on the podium. Just 31 seconds separate those two teams.
Stage 2 will be a day when descending skills will come to the fore. Though the second stage features an ascent to the summit of the Coll de Cabús, at 2 327 meters above sea level, it’s 1 950 meters of downhill eclipses the 1 300 meters of accumulated ascent. The first 25 kilometres of the 46 kilometre course includes the bulk of the climbing, thereafter the Super Sispony trail in the Pal/Arinsal Bike Park provides the T-Section before the climb to Aldosa offers the final significant opportunity for the strongest climbers to gain time on their rivals. La Ruta del Ferro leads into La Massana, where the race village awaits with both post-stage recovery meals and celebrations.
The trails of Arinsal Bike Park are a highlight of the race. Photo by Carles Iturbe/Andorra Epic.
To follow the mountain biking action as it unfolds, like the Andorra Epic Facebook page or follow @andorra_epic on Instagram. Daily highlights from the race can be viewed on the Epic Series YouTube Channel. To find out more, visit www.epic-series.com/andorra.
2025 Andorra Epic Results:
UCI Men Stage 1:
- Klimatiza Orbea: Marc Stutzmann & Sebastian Gesche (2:02:24)
- Buff Megamo 2: Jose Dias & Pablo Rodriguez Guede (2:02:40 | +16)
- Singer KTM Racing: Simon Stiebjahn & Martin Frey (2:05:03 | +2:39)
- Cyclis – Van den Plas: Robin Ferket & Wout Janssen (2:05:58 | +3:34)
- Cannondale ISB Sport: Riccardo Chiarini & Peeter Pruus (2:06:00 | +3:36)
Efficient Safari Essences will start Stage 2 in orange. Photo by Carles Iturbe/Andorra Epic.
UCI Women Stage 1:
- Efficient Safari Essences: Vera Looser & Danielle du Toit (2:40:31)
- Buff Megamo : Rosa van Doorn & Janina Wüst (2:44:13 | +3:42)
- 1VISION: Antonia Daubermann & Naama Noyman (2:49:53 | +9:22)
- Fortress Real Estate Investment: Ila Stow & Laura Stark (2:50:24 | +9:53)
- Scott BTB Sport: Cristina Morán Roza & Noemi Moreno Castañeda (2:55:49 | +15:18)
For the full results from the 2025 Andorra Epic click here.
Photo by Carles Iturbe/Andorra Epic.
