Mountain Bike Team Gaudos, made up of Stephen Grima and Patrick Scicluna, have returned from Switzerland having achieved a 10th place finish from a field of 61 teams in the Grand Masters Category a result both riders are rightly proud of, particularly given the limited high-altitude training terrain available on Malta.

The Swiss Epic, held across the alpine terrain of the Swiss Alps, is widely regarded as the most demanding race in the entire Epic Series in terms of altitude gain compressed into relatively short stages. Racing in variable and challenging weather conditions, the Maltese duo navigated five stages of relentless climbing and technical descents to claim their top-ten finish against teams from across Europe and beyond.

For Scicluna, this was his first experience in an Epic Series race, though not his first multi-stage event. “I matched perfectly with my teammate Stephen Grima,” he noted. “The trails and scenery were amazing, though the uphills were brutal, the descents tough, and the weather made conditions significantly harder.” The pairing proved effective from the outset, with both riders complementing each other across the varied demands of the week.

Scicluna identified the second stage — a 24-kilometre time trial on gravel and forest roots — as his most gruelling. Fast, unrelenting and slippery, it demanded sustained maximum effort for close to an hour with no margin for error. By contrast, the fourth stage brought out the best in him: 55 kilometres with 2,350 metres of climbing, the most compressed elevation gain of the entire race, set against some of the most spectacular alpine scenery on the course. Long climbs, demanding descents requiring total focus, and cold temperatures all combined to create a stage that, for Scicluna, felt closest to his ideal conditions. “You couldn’t afford the minimum error,” he said of the descents, “and it was very cold — so exactly where I feel at home.”

The Swiss Epic represents one chapter in what has been a landmark year for Grima. Now two-thirds of the way through an ambitious 25-race programme for 2026, his season has taken him across some of the most iconic mountain bike terrain in the world — from the legendary trails of the Absa Cape Epic in South Africa to the rugged island stages of the 4 Islands, the high mountain passes of the Andorra Epic Pyrenees, and now the Alpine challenges of the Swiss Epic. Each race has brought a different partner and a different dynamic, yet Grima has maintained his momentum throughout, building experience and resilience.

What the results alone do not convey is the effort behind them. Competing at this level while holding down a full-time job demands long training hours and a relentless schedule. Recovery is not an afterthought — sleep, nutrition and rest must be managed as carefully as any training block. For an amateur rider taking on one of the most demanding race calendars in mountain biking, the commitment shapes every week of the year.

When the year was still ahead of him, Grima set out his ambitions clearly: “2026 promises an epic year: 25 stages totalling 45,000 metres of climbing, 1,800 kilometres, and collaboration with five teammates.” Across a cumulative distance greater than the length of Malta many times over, and with a total elevation gain that dwarfs the world’s highest peaks, that promise is being delivered stage by stage. With the Swiss result now banked, Grima heads into the final stretch of the season with his sights firmly set on completing one of the most ambitious Epic Series campaigns ever undertaken by a Maltese rider.

Both riders expressed their gratitude towards Extra Karte, Visit Malta, SG Woodworks Ltd, Raico, National Gypsum Limited Malta, Würth Malta, Pitre Hardware, Lourdes Opticians, JV Pharma, A. Caruana Enterprises Ltd and Xlendi Supermarket, without whom such participation would not be possible.

Grima will be competing in Overberg, South Africa at the Wines2Whales race between the 6th and 15th November.