Tour de Suisse 2025: GC Favourites

[The below text was written before the start of the Tour de Suisse and has not been updated]

The GC battle is expected to be decided on the fifth and final days. Stage 5 is the Queen Stage, featuring 3,620 metres of elevation gain and a summit finish on a 6.4 kilometres climb at 9.5%. The final stage is an individual time trial that, apart from the first kilometre, climbs steadily – and steeply – for 9.2 kilometres at 9%.

While GC contenders will need to stay sharp in the opening three stages – all hilly days with punchy finales – significant time gaps are unlikely. Stage 4, however, could shake things up. It features a major climb over the Splügen Pass into Italy, followed by a long descent and an uphill run-in to the line at shallow gradients. It could prove decisive, though it’s more likely that the GC contenders will keep their powder dry for the Queen Stage the following day.

Stage 6 is one for the sprinters, and the penultimate stage serves up another punchy finale before the eight-day race concludes with the already mentioned ITT for climbers.

Given his form this season, João Almeida is the top favourite for the overall win. He’s already claimed victory in both the Tour of the Basque Country and the Tour de Romandie, while none of the other contenders have notched up a win yet. Aleksandr Vlasov would normally be expected to challenge the Portuguese rider, but so far this season he’s been a shadow of his former self. Perhaps Switzerland will bring him back to life.

There are two former winners on the start list: Rui Costa, who won the Tour de Suisse in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and Geraint Thomas, the 2022 champion.

Favourites Tour de Suisse 2025

**** João Almeida, Aleksandr Vlasov
*** Laurens De Plus, Ben O’Connor, Felix Gall
** Geraint Thomas, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Ilan Van Wilder
* Thomas Gloag, Roger Adrià, Jan Christen, Oscar Onley, Lorenzo Fortunato