Having seized the lead on Stage 2, the Buff Megamo women added two more stage victories en route to a dominant overall win in the third event in the 2025 Epic Series. Klimatiza Orbea, meanwhile, enjoyed a near-perfect four days in the Pyrenees, winning Stages 1 and 3 to hold yellow throughout the Andorra Epic.

Klimatiza Orbea

The Klimatiza Orbea team won two stages en route to overall victory at the 2025 Andorra Epic. Photo by Gabri Amoros/Andorra Epic.

The final stage of the 2025 Andorra Epic played out in near-perfect conditions in the Pyrenean Principality on Sunday, 6 July. Having gone into the stage with 13:45 and 1:13 leads respectively, the Buff Megamo and Klimatiza Orbea teams had only to control the race to bring home the titles. The women in the orange CIOVITA leaders’ jerseys, Rosa van Doorn and Janina Wüst, had already proved themselves the strongest climbers in the race by some margin and once again used the ascents to open an advantage, which allowed them to put a further gloss on their overall victory. Marc Stutzmann and Sebastian Gesche were pushed to the line in the battle for the yellow CIOVITA jerseys. Simon Stiebjahn and Martin Frey were the aggressors on the final stage, adding Stage 4 to their Stage 2 victory, while Jose Dias and Pablo Rodriguez Guede slipped out of contention for overall victory. Singer KTM Racing’s performance secured them second, but they could only reduce Klimatiza Orbea’s advantage by 32 seconds, allowing Stutzmann and Gesche to win the title by 2 minutes and 13 seconds.

Stage 4 was no ceremonial procession. Starting in the Naturland Adventure Park, the 52 kilometre course climbed past Bosc de la Rabassa to the Refugi Roca de Pimes, at 2 140 meters above sea level. Passing through the first aid station, 20 kilometres in, before the descent from over 2 000 meters began in earnest, Klimatiza Orbea, Singer KTM Racing, and TRINITY Racing were together in a front group. The German pair then used the Comabella trail T-Section to launch an attack, which gained them a maximum of 47 seconds. The 12 kilometre grind up the La Valira river valley past Sant Julia de Loria and Andorra la Vella allowed the stronger climbers, Stutzmann and Gesche, to control the gap without expending the energy to close it entirely. Coming into La Massana for the final time, Singer KTM Racing crossed the final finish line first, but Klimatiza Orbea were crowned champions when they finished moments later.

TRINITY Racing

The TRINITY Racing team put the men in yellow under pressure on the final stage. Photo by Carles Iturbe/Andorra Epic.

“The stage was full of emotions today,” Gesche explained. “We had to climb super hard in the beginning to go with the TRINITY guys, who were flying today. We summited with them and Singer [KTM], and all descended together until Singer KTM attacked near the bottom of the descent. They opened up a 15 second gap, and they then forced us to chase all the way up the climb along the river. But towards the end, we could see the gap wasn’t that big, and we knew the race was ours. But at points, we thought that Singer KTM might be able to get the GC, so it was stressful for most of the stage. When we realised we would win the overall, it was a big relief.”

“It’s super great to win with Sebas [Gesche]. It’s the first win for me this year and my first win with the Klimatiza Orbea team,” Stutzmann grinned. “But I’m not just happy for myself, I know this victory is big for Sebas too, so it’s super nice!”

Andorra Epic

Sebastian Gesche warming up ahead of Stage 4. Photo by Carles Iturbe/Andorra Epic.

Dias and Rodriguez Guede could only finish fifth on Stage 4, which cost them the second position that they had held since Thursday’s Stage 1. TRINITY Racing were third on the day, and Daniel English and Birk Ronnestad will be happy with their efforts for the week. English, a 20-year-old American, followed in his countryman Christopher Blevins’ footsteps, who finished third in another Epic Series event, the SPAR Swiss Epic, as a 20-year-old back in 2018. Having been drafted in from ARC8 Bicycles for the race, the 19-year-old Norwegian will also gain insights from this stage racing experience into the remainder of his cross-country season.

In the UCI Women’s race, Van Doorn and Wüst added a third stage victory, but still had to overcome a moment of stress to secure the title. Having established a healthy lead on the trails Van Doorn punctured in the forest on the Comabella singletrack. Quick teamwork by the Dutch champion and her Swiss partner saw the Buff Megamo combination back up and riding within a minute, without Efficient Safari Essence passing them on the trail.

Singer KTM

Singer KTM Racing’s Simon Stiebjahn (left) and Martin Frey (right) won the final stage of the Andorra Epic. Photo by Gabri Amoros/Andorra Epic.

By the finish line, in La Massana, the race leaders had added another 7 minutes and 41 seconds to their general classification dominance. Vera Looser and Danielle du Toit had to settle for second for the third day in a row and silver overall. The 1VISION team of Antonia Daubermann and Naama Noyman completed the podium places, well ahead of Fortress Real Estate Investments and Scott BTB Sport.

“We are super happy to take the win,” Van Doorn smiled. “On the first stage, we had a problem, but then day by day we got stronger and managed to gain time. In the end, we had quite a comfortable lead. I’m very happy with how we worked together as a team, and this Andorra Epic is really amazing, the trails here are incredible and of course totally different from the Netherlands.”

Andorra Epic

After taking orange on Stage 2 the Buff Megamo women extended their overall lead on every subsequent stage. Photo by Gabri Amoros/Andorra Epic.

Upon finishing the Andorra Epic Van Doorn not only won the title but gained Epic Legend status, by adding this finisher’s medal to her Absa Cape Epic and 4Islands Epic medals. “I’m an Epic Legend now, too, and this gave me a bit of extra motivation this week. The Epic Series organisation feels like a family by now, and it’s always great taking part in the series events to reunite with everyone.”

“I’m really happy to be back racing and to have been a better partner for Rosa [van Doorn] than I was at the [Absa] Cape Epic,” Wüst enthused. “It’s nice to feel the shape coming back. I really enjoyed the downhills here at the Andorra Epic, and while it’s hard to say which was my favourite stage, I think the Queen Stage sticks out a bit in my memory. The uphills were super crazy steep, but the downhills were amazing.”

With the Andorra Epic wrapping up, the Epic Series moves from the Pyrenees to the Alps for the SPAR Swiss Epic. Taking place from 13 to 17 August in the southeastern canton of Graubünden, the Legend status event will provide the familiar teams of the series with another opportunity to race for glory. To share in the excitement building up to the 2025 SPAR Swiss Epic, mountain bike fans can watch highlights from the season thus far on the Epic Series YouTube Channel. Fans and riders alike can also recap on all the Andorra Epic action by liking the Andorra Epic Facebook page or following @andorra_epic on Instagram. For more information on the Epic Series and the individual events within the series, visit www.epic-series.com.

Epic Legend

Rosa van Doorn earned an Epic Legend metal too, upon finishing the Andorra Epic. Photo by Gabri Amoros/Andorra Epic.

2025 Andorra Epic Results:

UCI Men Stage 4:

  1. Singer KTM Racing: Simon Stiebjahn & Martin Frey (2:06:05)
  2. Klimatiza Orbea: Marc Stutzmann & Sebastian Gesche (2:06:37 | +32)
  3. TRINITY Racing: Daniel English & Birk Ronnestad (2:08:04 | +1:59)
  4. Cyclis – Van den Plas: Robin Ferket & Wout Janssen (2:11:10 | +5:05)
  5. Buff Megamo 2: Jose Dias & Pablo Rodriguez Guede (2:11:51 | +5:46)

UCI Women Stage 4:

  1. Buff Megamo : Rosa van Doorn & Janina Wüst (2:42:27)
  2. Efficient Safari Essences: Vera Looser & Danielle du Toit (2:50:08 | +7:41)
  3. 1VISION: Antonia Daubermann & Naama Noyman (2:53:34 | +11:07)
  4. Fortress Real Estate Investment: Ila Stow & Laura Stark (3:00:44 | +18:17)
  5. Scott BTB Sport: Cristina Morán Roza & Noemi Moreno Castañeda (4:04:08| +21:41)

UCI Men’s General Classification after Stage 4:

  1. Klimatiza Orbea: Marc Stutzmann & Sebastian Gesche (9:09:11)
  2. Singer KTM Racing: Simon Stiebjahn & Martin Frey (9:11:24 | +2:13)
  3. Buff Megamo 2: Jose Dias & Pablo Rodriguez Guede (9:15:38 | +6:27)
  4. TRINITY Racing: Daniel English & Birk Ronnestad (9:21:17| +12:06)
  5. Cyclis – Van den Plas: Robin Ferket & Wout Janssen (9:25:53 | +16:42)

UCI Women’s General Classification after Stage 4:

  1. Buff Megamo : Rosa van Doorn & Janina Wüst (11:45:15)
  2. Efficient Safari Essences: Vera Looser & Danielle du Toit (12:06:50 | +21:35)
  3. 1VISION: Antonia Daubermann & Naama Noyman (12:25:29| +40:14)
  4. Fortress Real Estate Investment: Ila Stow & Laura Stark (13:01:58 | +1:16:43)
  5. Scott BTB Sport: Cristina Morán Roza & Noemi Moreno Castañeda (13:21:55 | +1:36:40)

For the full results from the 2025 Andorra Epic, click here.