Race debutants Andri Frischknecht and Michiel Van der Heijden took a surprise victory for the Scott-SRAM Young Guns team, out-sprinting their elder counterparts Nino Schurter and partner Matthias Stirnemann (SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing).
"We never ride with a plan - we just like to ride," said Schurter. "Today it worked out very well for both our teams, so that's fantastic. The last big climb was terrible, very sandy, but both our teams seemed to manage it best and we were able to get away."
Manuel Fumic and Henrique Avancini claimed third place on the day to keep hold on their lead in the overall classification while double stage winners Christoph Sauser and Jaroslav Kulhavy battled with mechanical issues and finished fourth.
In the women's competition Esther Suss and Jennie Stenerhag were back on the top step of the podium, padding out their already comfortable lead in the overall standings. Cadel Evans and George Hincapie took their second win in a row in the masters competition, but it is still Tomi Misser and Ibon Zugasti (Orbea Factory) that still lead overall, despite losing some time.
Results
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#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Michiel Van der Heijden (Ned) / Andri Frischknecht (Swi) Scott-SRAM Young Guns
4:10:00
2
Nino Schurter (Swi) / Matthias Stirnemann (Swi) SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing
Row 1 - Cell 2
3
Manuel Fumic (Ger) / Henrique Avancini (Bra) Cannondale Factory Racing XC
0:02:36
4
Christoph Sauser (Swi) / Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Investec-Songo-Specialized
0:03:17
5
Hector Leonardo Paez Leon (Col) / Max Knox (RSA) Kansai Plascon
0:04:22
6
Nicola Rohrbach (Swi) / Daniel Geismayr (Aut) Centurion Vaude 2
0:04:57
7
Karl Platt (Ger)/ Urs Huber (Sui) Bulls
0:05:16
8
Alban Lakata (Aut) / Kristian Hynek (Cze) Topeak Ergon Racing
0:06:38
9
Nico Bell (RSA) / Gawie Combrinck (RSA) NAD Pro MTB
0:06:39
10
Frans Claes (Bel)/ Sebastien Carabin (RSA) Claes-Carabin
