Stage 2: Southern Escape Graubünden

 After an extensive sportsman's breakfast, you will start today's stage from Savognin over the Septimer Pass to Pontresina in the Engadine. The highlight of today's stage is the section from Bivio over the Septimer Pass down to Casaccia in Bregaglia, where you reach the third language area of Graubünden. The descent from the pass down to Cranch da Sett is tough and only for technical bike experts. Pushing passages must be expected. The post bus takes you from Promontogno up to St. Moritz, where you take the last section of today's stage through the Staz Forest to Pontresina under the tunnels.

Discover stages:

• Stage 1: Tschiertschen - Savognin
• Stage 3: Pontresina - Poschiavo / Tirano
• To the complete tour

Well-trained mountain bikers ride from Maloja under their own power along the south sides of the Engadine lakes to St. Moritz and Pontresina.

The river Gelgia is followed up the valley in the morning hours and quickly gains altitude. At the village of Rona we change the side of the valley and climb up the steep forest area again completely traffic-free. We reach the road to Alp Flix and follow it a short distance downhill until the forest road branches off to the Marmorera reservoir. For a short stretch, the main road forms our route until a small path (with a short sliding passage right at the beginning) leads to the village of Marmorera on the left. Until Bivio we continue to move far away from motorized traffic. The ascent to the small mountain village of Bivio at almost 1800 m above sea level would also be possible by post bus. Not so to the Septimerpass. Here your own muscle power is required. 530 metres of altitude difference on a well-developed alpine road have to be mastered until the historic transition to southern Switzerland. The path is challenging to ride in places, for less experienced mountain bikers is to be expected with isolated pushing passages. The deeper you get, the more flowing the path to the valley, to Casaccia. Actually, you could get on the post bus to St. Moritz here, but before that, there is still the exit through Bergell. The narrow valley radiates a very special charm. The route – a mixture of single trails and old mule tracks – down to the picturesque village of Promontogno is particularly beautiful. In Bregaglia, meanwhile, the third language area has already been reached. Here a separate Italian dialect is spoken. For the trip to St. Moritz, everyone, including the top athletes, is recommended to take the Postbus. The yellow bus takes us up the Maloja Pass and along the wonderful lakes to St. Moritz. The final stretch through the idyllic Stazerwald to Pontresina can once again be mastered under your own power – but leads largely downhill.

Effective distance kilometers on the bike: 55 km.