Tour de Suisse 2014 Route stage 2: Bellinzona - Sarnen

At Sunday, June 15, stage 2 of the 2014 Tour of Switzerland leads in 181.1 kilometres from Bellinzona to Sarnen. It’s a ride through the Southern Alps with a finish at 481 meter above sea level. In between riders crest two hors catégorie passes and two 2nd category passes, and the finish is 20 kilometres after the last summit. (Slideshow route/profile)

Tour de Suisse 2014: Route stage 2 Bellinzona > Sarnen

Sarnen – you really can’t go much more central in Switzerland. A town of 10.000, it is situated on the enchanting shores of Lake Sarnen. As is often the case in Switzerland, the town is surrounded by mountains.

Directly from the start, riders head in north eastern direction. Since Bellinzona is cornered on all sides by Italy, except the north, we almost end up in the land of the Giro. Last May we’ve already been there for three weeks, so we turn the handle bar slightly to the north to head for the heart of Switzerland.

Halfway riders crest the Gotthard pass (2.093 metres, hors catégory), Furka pass (2.416 metres, hors catégory) and Grimsel pass (2.177 metres, 2nd category). Closer to the finish Brünigpas lays waiting, peaking at 1.024 metres. It's an 8% climb and upon cresting it's 20 kilometres left to race, toughly half of it downhill and the other half flat.

The stage starts at 11:53 (CET) and the finish is expected around 17:05.