Buchli and Stoll celebrate stage win

Switzerland's Lukas Buchli and Thomas Stoll not only won the fifth stage after an incredible race over 82.27 kilometres, but the BiXS iXS Pro Team also took over the overall lead in the stage from St. Christina to Sarnthein. They finished in 3:46:49.

Today's runners-up Hannes Genze and Andreas Kugler (Multivan Merida Biking Team) finished in 3:52:39. They were the previous leaders. Team Bulls 2's Thomas Dietsch and Tim Boehme came in third for the day with a 3:54:00 and finished ahead of Team Bulls teammates Karl Platt & Stefan Sahm, who had a flat tire.

The Buchli/Stoll team started the day quietly, trying not to go too early. It was, as it turned out, the right decision.

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Longest climb of the Transalp history brings preliminary decision

"In the first ascent to Seiser Alm, we held back and let others pedal in front. And we did the same up to the Gasteiger Sattel. On the longest climb in the Transalp history (1679m), we forced the pace with Team Bulls," said Buchli of the first half of the race. "When we noticed that Hannes Genze had problems keeping up, we pedalled more powerfully."

"In the last pitch near the peak, we were able to break away from Karl (Platt) and Stefan (Sahm). Then, we went down at full speed aiming for the stage win. We didn't think about the Yellow Jersey at all. But now, after all the bad luck we had yesterday, it is simply amazing that we took over the lead."

Flat tire destroys hopes for Team Bulls

While riding downhill toward Sarnthein, the two Swiss pros took advantage of their contenders' bad luck. At about Reinswald, Team Bulls was only 10 seconds behind the eventual winners, but then a rear flat for Platt ended his team's dreams of victory.

"This defect was a real setback for us. We lost a lot of time. We gave everything and did pretty well regarding Karl's recurring shoulder problems in the downhill sections. This is our problem right now. We have been losing time in parts where we were strong - the downhill," said Stefan Sahm.

His teammate Karl Platt, who again had trouble with his dislocating shoulder, was even more depressed about the result. "The most disappointing thing is that I cannot go full speed on the downhill parts. Every time when it's slippery or when there are rocks, I got scared of going fast," said the 2008 German National Champion, who won the last five TransAlp editions.

Multivan Merida Biking Team frustrated

It was a day to forget for Hannes Genze and Andreas Kugler as the two TransAlp newbies, who had worn the Yellow Jersey for the last three days through the Alps, got a bad break. "I crashed within the first five kilometres after overlapping the back wheel of the rider in front of me. I think this is why I lost a lot of power for the long climb to Gasteiger Sattel. There, I absolutely went to my limit. It hurt so much," said 2005 European Champion Genze, who had suffered various abrasions from his crash.

Team KTM underlines its strength in the master category

Austria's Ekkehard Doerschlag and Heinz Zoerweg extended their lead in the masters' category after the last two days ended in close sprints. Team KTM finished in Sarnthein in 4:10:06. Silvano Janes and Stephan Unterthurner from Petrovilla Bergner Bau RTTR were second in 4:13:53.

Hansjuerg Gerber and Kurt Baggenstoss from Zellweger Architekten Thun clinched their first podium finish in third (4:22:34) with only 20 seconds over Scott-Adidas riders Walter Platzgummer and Johan Grasegger, who are still sitting in second position in the GC.

Rocky Mountain completes its mission in the mixed classification

The Canadian-German Rocky Mountain pairing consisting of Alison Sydor and Daniel Gathof claimed their fourth consecutive stage win in 4:41:03, thus extending their lead again.

Once again, Anita Steiner and Sepp Fischli from Stoeckli Craft/Fischli Bikes from Switzerland finished second (4:52:44). Sebamed bikers Steffi Hadraschek and Martin Jochem rounded out the podium as third (4:55:45).

Women's leaders keep pink jerseys

Just like in the mixed category, there is one team dominating the women's competition. Team Rothaus-Cube including Milena Landtwing and Kristine Noorgard secured their fourth stage win in 4:54:56.

Peggy Klose and Claudia Till from Zwillingscraft 1 rolled in as second (5:07:00), about four minutes earlier than Fiat-Rotwild ladies Kerstin Brachtendorf and her French partner Danièle Troesch.

Ganser/Niggl on top in senior master category

In the category for the teams which are older than 100 years combined, Ferdinand Ganser and Georg Niggl from Jeantex RSC Logwin Kempten celebrated their fourth triumph in a row. After 4:49:40, the two collected another stage win and remain in the overall lead.

With a deficit of 16 minutes, Australia's Craig Peacock and Hans Dielacher from Merida Flight Centre followed (5:05:33). Ueli Schuermann and Hanspeter Hunziker from Long Time Bikers V-Sport.ch brought home another podium result as third (5:21:16).

Stage 6 Preview: Sarnthein - Kaltern

The sixth stage from Sarnthein to Kaltern will be a flowy stage with trails that offer a break after the very hard last two days. Racers will go a shorter 77.4km with 3,173m of climbing.

The route starts with a mix of partly steep gravel roads and trails up to the Kreuzjoch, which provides some breathtaking views into the Dolomites and to the Ortler. Then, racers will go on trails through meadows along the Auener Joechl, the Stoanane Mandln up to the Moeltener Kaser. One trail will drop 800m from Moelten to Vilpian into the Etschtal.

Riders will have a 900m hike a bike near the Eppaner Hoehenweg before heading toward last year's course into Kaltern.

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