As the neutral zone of 5.2 kilometres is deducted, the first round is 16.3 kilometres long, while the remaining laps are 21.5 kilometres. The road is never really flat, but the route should still favour fast finishers.
Bellinzona is the hub of the Tour de Suisse’s last two stages. The town east of the Ticino River is famous for its three castles: Castelgrande, Montebello and Sasso Corbaro. Furthermore, its location is stunning as Bellinzona is surrounded by Alps.
In 2014, the Tour de Suisse started with a 9.4 kilometres ITT in Bellinzona and Tony Martin took the win ahead of Tom Dumoulin and Rohan Dennis. The then 2nd stage went from Bellinzona to Sarnen and Cameron Meyer brought an early break home, winning ahead of Philip Deignan and Larry Warbasse.
The first three riders on the line win time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the three intermediate sprints (at kilometre 68.3, at kilometre 89.8 and at kilometre 131.3) come with 3, 2 and 1 seconds each.
Read also: results/race report 8th stage 2018 Tourde Suisse.
Tour de Suisse 2018 stage 8: Route maps, height profiles, and more
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