Lessons from the Swiss Epic: Why Stage Racing is a Crash Course

I just returned from my second Swiss Epic, five days of ridiculous climbs, technical descents, and unbelievable views in the Alps. By the finish of this year’s race, I was both shattered and sharper — because stage racing has a way of compressing an entire season’s worth of lessons into one week. It's like taking a training time machine.

This year, it felt like the field was on another level. Maybe it was just that my partner (Tyler Clark) was, maybe not. Either way, I suffered like never before in honor of holding up my end of the bargain and finding new limits. Here’s what it taught me this year

Lesson 1: Consistency Is King

Stage one was rough for me. The legs weren’t there on the biggest climb of the entire week and I felt like I was dragging us down. The last thing I wanted to do was start the week in a hole. In a one-day race, that could have been the story: a bad day and a bad result. But in a stage race, it’s only chapter one.

I knew I tended to struggle on the opening effort. So, I focused on being consistent, doing what I could each day, and trusting my experience to climb out of that early deficit. By the final stage, Tyler and I were riding the strongest we had all week. From P30 to P17. That’s the beauty of stage racing — you’re never locked into one performance. It’s about persistence and stacking good days, not perfection.

Lesson 2: Smart Efforts Can Pay Big Dividends

In stage racing, every effort is a calculated risk, but sometimes it’s worth spending the extra matches. We learned early on we were significantly more comfortable and fast on the downhills. We burned a little more energy than desired to slot in front of teams right before a long downhill and were able to gain “free space”.

It was always the right call — our technical skills gave us the edge, and once we got into the descent first, we could leap frog to a new group. That move didn’t just help us in the moment; it boosted our momentum for the rest of the day. Stage racing forces you to constantly balance conservation with calculated risks.

Lesson 3: Break Things Down 

Five days in the Alps can feel overwhelming if you let your mind sit on the whole picture. I learned to compartmentalize — to break each stage into chunks and focus on one climb, one section, or even just the next aid station at a time.

That mindset shift kept me from getting crushed when I was on the limit, wondering if I'd be able to keep up the pace we had set. I remember thinking, “That was one of the hardest days of racing ever.”

Then you wake up and do it again. Instead of thinking, “I have so many more hours/days/etc. of this. How can I keep up that effort?” I thought, “Get over this climb. Nail the descent. Eat. Repeat.” And piece by piece, the week came together.

Lesson 4: Food Isn’t Always Fun, But Necessary  

You’d never expect to get tired of eating. Stacking huge efforts day after day, you’d think I would wake up starving, be hungry after the stage, and want lots of snacks at bedtime. False.

At least for me and all the guys I travel with, fueling can be a task in these races. But it has to be done. Stage racing can wear out your gut, between the effort you put it through, the gels and sugar you are pounding and the lack of time to repair. And yet you have to eat. Stage racing teaches you little ways to sneak in an extra few hundred calories or certain foods you can stomach. For me, it was a couple glasses of orange juice and Nutella on random stuff that got the job done. 

When you hop on the bike at 7:00am, the last thing you want is to start the gel carousel again. But, this is the way.

Why You Should Try It

You may be wondering why it’s even worth it then…and trust me, so did I. 

But I keep coming back to them.

You don’t need to fly to Switzerland or do an Epic to get the benefits. Any multi-day race—whether it’s a gravel stage race, local MTB stage race, or even a weekend block of back-to-back training rides—teaches you the principles:

• Pacing, because going too deep (or not deep enough) one day can compromise the next.
  
  
• Fueling, because under-fueling shows up fast and sticks around.
  
  
• Teamwork, because it makes the dreamwork. And two athletes working together can elevate the experience.
  
  
• Recovery, because the real magic happens between stages.
  
  
• Resilience, because every day gives you a new chance to change the script.
  
  

Stage racing accelerates growth because the feedback is immediate and compounding. Every mistake you make gets exposed. Every smart choice pays off the next day.

Takeaway

The Swiss Epic reminded me of something I tell my athletes all the time: progress isn’t about one heroic effort — it’s about stringing together consistent days and making smart choices.

Stage racing just compresses that truth into one unforgettable week.

Check out my Instagram for more play-by-play and photos from each day. @carsonjbeckett