TheTour de Suisse (English:Tour of Switzerland) is an annualroad cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with theCritérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for theTour de France, which is on the calendar approximately two weeks after the end of the Tour de Suisse. Since 2011 the event is part of theUCI World Tour, cycling's highest level of professional races.
 2024 Tour de Suisse | |
 | |
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | June |
| Region | Switzerland |
| English name | Tour of Switzerland |
| Local name(s) | Tour de Suisse(in French) |
| Discipline | Road race |
| Competition | UCI World Tour UCI Women's World Tour |
| Type | Stage race |
| Organiser | IMG |
| Race director | Olivier Senn |
| Web site | www |
| History (men) | |
| First edition | 1933 (1933) |
| Editions | 85 (as of 2022) |
| First winner |  Max Bulla (AUT) |
| Most wins |  Pasquale Fornara (ITA)(4 wins) |
| Most recent |  Adam Yates (GBR) |
| History (women) | |
| First edition | 1998 |
| Editions | 8 (as of 2024) |
| First winner |  Rasa Polikevičiūtė (LTU) |
| Most wins |  Zulfiya Zabirova (RUS)(2 wins) |
| Most recent |  Demi Vollering (NED) |
From 2021, a women's race has been held at the same time, with the event joining theUCI Women's World Tour from 2023.
History
editThe race was first held in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. Like the Tour de France and the Dauphiné, the Tour de Suisse has several stages with significant mountain climbs in theSwiss Alps and at least oneindividual time trial. Several winners of the Tour de Suisse have also won the Tour de France, includingEddy Merckx andJan Ullrich. In 2005 the Tour de Suisse was included in the inauguralUCI Pro Tour and organisers moved the race to earlier in June.
The first winner of the race was AustrianMax Bulla in the 1933 edition. The rider with most wins is ItalianPasquale Fornara with 4 wins in the 1950s. The most recent winner isMattias Skjelmose, who won for the first time in2023.
Women's race
editA women's race was first held in 1998, won by Lithuanian riderRasa Polikevičiūtė.[1] Three further editions were held between 1999 and 2001.[1] The event was restarted in 2021 in conjunction with the men's event, taking place over two days. In 2022, the race was lengthened to four days and became part of theUCI Women's ProSeries. In 2023 the race joined theUCI Women's World Tour.[2] The race is considered a proving ground for theGiro Donne, which is on the calendar after the Tour de Suisse.[2]
Winners
editMen's race
edit
Women's race
editMen's race statistics
editMultiple winners
edit| Rider | Country | Titles | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pasquale Fornara | Italy | 4 | 1952, 1954, 1957, 1958 |
| Ferdinand Kübler |  Switzerland | 3 | 1942, 1948, 1951 |
| Hugo Koblet | Switzerland | 3 | 1950, 1953, 1955 |
| Rui Costa |  Portugal | 3 | 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Gino Bartali | Italy | 2 | 1946, 1947 |
| Hans Junkermann |  West Germany | 2 | 1959, 1962 |
| Louis Pfenninger | Switzerland | 2 | 1968, 1972 |
| Beat Breu | Switzerland | 2 | 1981, 1989 |
| Sean Kelly |  Ireland | 2 | 1983, 1990 |
| Andrew Hampsten |  United States | 2 | 1986, 1987 |
| Simon Špilak |  Slovenia | 2 | 2015, 2017 |
By country
edit| Wins | Country |
|---|---|
| 23 | Switzerland |
| 20 | Italy |
| 8 |  Belgium |
| 4 | Germany (including West Germany) |
| 3 | Austria Portugal Spain United States |
| 2 |  Australia Colombia France Ireland Russia Slovenia Great Britain |
| 1 |  Czech Republic Denmark Ecuador Kazakhstan Luxembourg Netherlands |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^The race was initially won byLance Armstrong,[4] but he was stripped of this victory in October 2012.[5]
- ^The race was initially won byJan Ullrich, but he was stripped of this victory in February 2012.[6]
References
edit- ^ab"Tour de Suisse Statistik Frauen"(PDF).Tour de Suisse. 2022. Retrieved22 June 2023.
- ^ab"Tour de Suisse Women 2023".cyclingnews.com. 2023-06-21. Retrieved2023-06-22.
- ^TdS 2020, pp. 8–9.
- ^TdS 2020, p. 8.
- ^"Lance Armstrong: Governing body strips American of Tour wins".BBC News. 22 October 2012. Retrieved22 October 2012.
- ^TdS 2020, p. 9.
- ^Goddard, Ben (13 June 2021)."Richard Carapaz wins Tour de Suisse".Cyclingnews.com.Future plc. Retrieved24 June 2022.
- ^"Geraint Thomas storms home as first British winner of Tour de Suisse".The Guardian.PA Media. 19 June 2022. Retrieved24 June 2022.
- ^TdS 2020, p. 12.
Sources
edit- Statistik-Dokument Tour de Suisse [Tour of Switzerland Statistical Document](PDF) (in German).IMG. December 2020. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 24 June 2022. Retrieved24 June 2022.
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External links
edit- Official website
- Tour de Suisse palmares atCycling Archives (archived, orcurrent page in French)