Long road to glory

The eventual winner of this year's Tour de Suisse will have 1,427 kilometres of road and a total climb of more than 17 kilometres to negotiate as the ten day event grinds its way around the four linguistic regions of Switzerland.

Day One: Rust-Rust. Individual time trial (7.9 km)

For the first time ever the Tour de Suisse gets underway on foreign soil, as the riders compete in a time trial around the Europapark fairground in Rust, Germany.

“Europapark is one of the biggest amusement parks close to the Swiss border,” explains Tour director Marc Biver, “and we thought it would be fun to have a stage there, with all the attractions and the spectators. Wherever possible the Tour should be linked with entertainment and I think we’re going to have plenty of entertainment this year.”

Day Two: Rust-Basel (178,8 km)

The second day’s racing acquaints the riders with the first bit of serious distance as they cross the Swiss border near Basel, finishing next to the new St Jakob sports stadium.

Day Three: Reinach-Baar (162,7 km)

Thursday’s stage provides the cyclists with a relatively gentle warm-up for the giddying heights just ahead. Three minor climbs break up this otherwise flat stretch.

Day Four: Baar-Wildhaus (144,0 km)

Described by course director Tony Rominger as the “first of the hard stages”, Friday’s stage culminates with a category two climb up to Wildhaus. “There won’t be any clear winners yet,” Rominger predicts, “but there will be plenty of losers.”

Day Five: Widnau-St Gotthard (220,6 km)

“The main attraction” is how Marc Biver puts it. Also dubbed the “King’s stage”, stage five will separate the contenders from the dreamers. After a category one ascent over the Oberalp pass, the riders will twice climb (or try to climb) to the top of the St Gotthard via two different passes.

The recent cold weather in Switzerland will make this stage particularly thrilling with snow still piled up alongside the mountain roads. “It was something we were worried about,” Biver admits, “because if there’s too much snow you can’t race. But we’ve been given the go-ahead now and the walls of snow should make for a fabulous sight.”

Day Six: Mendrisio-Mendrisio (174,1 km)

The sixth stage of the Tour de Suisse allows the riders to rest their legs a little, if they can still feel them. In honour of the 100th anniversary of the Mendrisio cycling club, Sunday’s loop follows the course of the 1971 World Street Cycling Championships.

Day Seven: Locarno-Naters (156,6 km)

It’s back to the hills on Monday for a stage that is short on distance but big on altitude. The top category climb up the Nufenenpass (2,478 m) is described by Tony Rominger as the “toughest on the Tour”. Riders will need strong legs on the way up and strong nerves on the steep road down.

Day Eight: Sion-Crans Montana. Individual time trial (25,1 km)

The healing spas of Crans Montana could be full to bursting after the remaining cyclists have completed this demanding time trial, which incorporates a one kilometre climb.

“This is the stage that could decide the overall winner,” believes Marc Biver. “It’s a very demanding stretch – a challenge for all the riders.”

Introduced partly as an incentive for American superstar Lance Armstrong, the climb to Crans Montana marks the first appearance in six years of a mountain time trial on the Tour de Suisse.

Day Nine: Sion-Lausanne (166,8 km)

The ride into Switzerland’s “Olympic city” is unlikely to have any bearing on the overall lead but, with its category two climb over the Col des Mosses, the stage will offer fringe riders the chance to grab a slice of fame.

Day Ten: Lausanne-Lausanne (175,9 km)

The final stage of this year’s Tour comprises a loop from outside the Olympic museum in Lausanne, past Nyon, Yverdon and Vevey, before returning to Lausanne where honours and massages will be bestowed in abundance on the exhausted riders.

by Mark Ledsom