On one of the summits along the course of the 2nd Endura Alpen Traum, one participant from Italy had already given up on himself. A damaged wheel would not let him continue the event over six Alpine summits and more than 6000 m (20.000 ft.) vertical climb. He had already removed his jersey and shoes, when the support van came along. After a brief talk he put his gear back on, because the support van provided him with a fitting STEVENS Izoard 105 road bike.

”The rider was happy and wanted to buy the bike right after finish in the Italian town of Sulden”, said Jens Schwedler from STEVENS. As a sponsor STEVENS provided race support including two vans full of road bikes, which also came to the rescue of another participant to help him finish.

Even without defects the 252 km (157 ml) from Sonthofen/Germany to Sulden/Italy would have been hard enough. The approx. 800 riders not only had to conquer 6.078 m (19940 ft.) of vertical climbing but also had to fight foul weather.

The starting shot was fired at 6.30 a.m. at Sonthofen with temperatures of 5°C (41°F) and drizzling rain. “When it’s raining here, it’s going to be very cold in the mountain”, Schwedler said before the start – and it was about to become true. It never became warmer than 11°C (52°F). Luckily, the sun was shining at the finish.

It was Roberto Cunico and Enrico Zen of Team Beraldo Greenpaper Europa Ovini, who were the best to cope with mountains and weather. They rode the course in a new record time at 8 hrs 31 min 11.47 sec. Five minutes later former pro Jörg Ludewig crossed the finish line in second, the same placing he had reached the year before.

For Roberto Cunico who had shielded his team mate from the wind for a very long time and had also waited for him at the Stelvio, it was already his second success within two weeks, after having won the Ötztaler Bike Marathon. Fastest rider on the short distance course of 146 km (91 mls) was Rico Elmer from Switzerland in 5 hrs 31 min 32.92 sec.