The Tour de Suisse boasts an impressive line-up. The field features almost all stellar riders that will also make their appearance on July’s showdown. World class sprinters Fernando Gaviria, André Greipel, Alexander Kristoff and Arnaud Démare go head-to-head in the relatively flat stages. But, as races are never pan-flat in the Alpine country, Peter Sagan, Michael Matthews and Greg Van Avermaet will be eyeing up their chances , too. The major contenders in terms of GC are Richie Porte, Bauke Mollema, Wilco Kelderman, Ion Izagirre, Steven Kruijswijk and title defender Simon Spilak, while Movistar starts with a notably strong line-up as two of their three leaders in the upcoming Tour de France ride in Switzerland – Mikel Landa and Nairo Quintana. The start list of the Tour de Suisse features 147 riders.
In recent years, the Tour de Suisse always ended two weeks before the start of La Grande Boucle, but it’s different this year. The two races are three weeks apart due to the FIFA World Cup in Russia, which makes the Tour de Suisse all the more interesting as a preparation race. After all, the riders will have one more week to recover.
The battle for the overall victory will come down to three mountain stages and two chrono races, so Richie Porte is a rider to watch as he is both a good climber and a strong time trialist. But obviously, the Tasmanian is just one of many favourites to win the 2018 Tour de Suisse. The first gaps will be opened up with the TTT on the first day of action and following two likely sprint stages the course takes a more mountainous shape from the 4th stage onward. In theory, stage 7 is the hardest race with a finale that’s tailor made for mountain goats. The final haul up to Arosa amounts to almost 30 kilometres, while the last day of action brings a flat ITT of 34 kilometres. Expect strong time trialists (Porte, Kelderman) to put 1 minute or more into the likes of Quintana.
Obviously, all GC contenders will want to win the nine-day Tour de Suisse, but first and foremost its their final test ahead of the Tour de France. The July showdown also features a TTT and an ITT, while it obviously takes in a vast amount of mountains, too. Check out the route of the upcoming Tour de France.
Looking forward to the Tour de France of 2018? Check out the actual cycling betting odds as given by 888sport.
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Tour de France 2020 Route stage 1: Nice - Nice
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 2: Nice - Nice
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 3: Nice - Sisteron
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 4: Sisteron - Orcières-Merlette
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 5: Gap - Privas
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 6: Le Teil - Mont Aigoual
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 7: Millau - Lavaur
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 8: Cazères - Loudenville
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 9: Pau - Laruns
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 10: Île d'Oléron - Île de Ré
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 11: Châtelaillon-Plage - Poitiers
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 12: Chauvigny - Sarran Corrèze
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 13: Châtel-Guyon - Puy Mary
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 14: Clermont-Ferrand - Lyon
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 15: Lyon - Grand Colombier
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 16: La Tour-du-Pin - Villard-de-Lans
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 17: Grenoble - Col de la Loze
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 18: Méribel - La Roche-sur-Foron
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 19: Bourg-en-Bresse - Champagnole
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 20: Lure - La Planche des Belles Filles
Tour de France 2020 Route stage 21: Mantes-la-Jolie - Paris
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Summer Olympics 2020 Tokyo: Route road race - men
Summer Olympics 2020 Tokyo: Route road race – women
Summer Olympics 2020 Tokyo: Route ITT - men
Summer Olympics 2020 Tokyo: Route ITT - women
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Tour Colombia 2020 Route stage 2: Paipa – Duitama
Tour Colombia 2020 Route stage 3: Paipa – Sogamoso
Tour Colombia 2020 Route stage 4: Paipa – Santa Rosa de Viterbo
Tour Colombia 2020 Route stage 5: Paipa – Zipaquirá
Tour Colombia 2020 Route stage 6: Zipaquirá – Alto El Verjón
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Tour of the Alps 2020 Route stage 2: Innsbruck – Feichten im Kaunertal
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Giro 2020 Route stage 1: Budapest ITT
Giro 2020 Route stage 2: Budapest - Györ
Giro 2020 Route stage 3: Székesfehérvár - Nagykanizsa
Giro 2020 Route stage 4: Monreale - Agrigento
Giro 2020 Route stage 5: Enna - Etna
Giro 2020 Route stage 6: Catania - Villafranca Tirrena
Giro 2020 Route stage 7: Mileto - Camigliatello Silano
Giro 2020 Route stage 8: Castrovillari - Brindisi
Giro 2020 Route stage 9: Giovinazzo - Vieste
Giro 2020 Route stage 10: San Salvo - Tortoreto Lido
Giro 2020 Route stage 11: Porto Sant'Elpidio - Rimini
Giro 2020 Route stage 12: Cesenatico - Cesenatico
Giro 2020 Route stage 13: Cervia - Monselice
Giro 2020 Route stage 14: Conegliano - Valdobbiadene
Giro 2020 Route stage 15: Rivolto – Piancavallo
Giro 2020 Route stage 16: Udine - San Daniele del Friuli
Giro 2020 Route stage 17: Bassano del Grappa – Madonna di Campiglio
Giro 2020 Route stage 18: Pinzolo – Laghi di Cancano
Giro 2020 Route stage 19: Morbegno - Asti
Giro 2020 Route stage 20: Alba – Sestriere
Giro 2020 Route stage 21: Cernusco di Naviglio – Milan
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Tour Down Under 2020 Route stage 1: Tanunda – Tanunda
Tour Down Under 2020 Route stage 2: Woodside – Stirling
Tour Down Under 2020 Route stage 3: Unley – Paracombe
Tour Down Under 2020 Route stage 4: Norwood – Murray Bridge
Tour Down Under 2020 Route stage 5: Glenelg – Victor Harbor
Tour Down Under 2020 Route stage 6: McLaren Vale – Willunga Hill
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