The preparation for the Tour continues in Switzerland
The first stage of the 2024 Tour de Suisse will take place next Sunday, coinciding with the last stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné. Both are the two major preparatory races for the Tour de France, and the fact that they overlap forces teams to decide which of the two races is better for their riders to fine-tune their form in competition before the big event of the year.
This time, the two big favorites for the Tour, Tadej Pogačar (1200) and Jonas Vingegaard (1200), will not participate in either race, and since Remco Evenepoel (1200) and Primoz Roglič (1200) are riding the Critérium du Dauphiné, the Swiss race is open to a victory by other riders.
Route
The race starts with a 4.8-kilometer time trial. The next two stages have the easiest profiles of the race, although both include kickers close to the finish line, making it unlikely that either will end in a full bunch sprint. From here, the race takes advantage of the country's terrain to string together four high mountain stages, all with uphill finishes. As usual in the Tour de Suisse, the last day features a second time trial (15.7 km).
Favorites
To win this race, you need to be a good climber with time trial abilities, and among the participants, the three men who best fit the profile are João Almeida (1200), Adam Yates (1200), and last year's winner, Mattias Skjelmose (1000). Other good climbers are Enric Mas (1000), Thomas Pidcock (1000), Cian Uijdebroeks (600), Lenny Martínez (600), Damiano Caruso (600), and Einer Rubio (600).
For the time trial stages, besides Almeida, Yates, and Skjelmose, the standouts are the Swiss riders Stefan Küng (600) and Stefan Bisseger (200), the Belgian Yves Lampaert (600), the Portuguese Nelson Oliveira (200), the Dutchman Bauke Mollema (400), the Briton Ethan Hayter (800), and the Frenchman Kevin Vauquelin (600).
As mentioned, there are not many opportunities for sprinters, but even so, several sprinters will take part on the race. The most notable are Jordi Meeus (600), Bryan Coquard (800), Pascal Ackermann (600), Marijn Van Den Berg (600), Mark Cavendish (600), Arnaud De Lie (600), Michael Matthews (800), and Tobias Andresen (400).
Photo: © Sam Buchli / Tour de Suisse