Tour de Suisse 2026 Route stage 1: Sondrio - Sondrio

Wednesday 17 June – The Tour de Suisse gets under way in Italy. The opening stage takes the riders back and forth through the Adda Valley, with occasional detours onto the steep slopes on either side of the river. Over 144 kilometres, they tackle 2,455 metres of climbing, all of which comes in the final 86 kilometres. The finale? A 1.1-kilometre ramp averaging 12.2%, followed by a rapid descent to the finish.

First published on 15 June 2026 - last updated 17 June: link to live race report and other relevante links added

Initially, the riders head through the Adda Valley towards Lake Como. Just before reaching it, they turn back and retrace their route.

After 58 kilometres of racing, the climb to Buglio in Monte provides the first real test. And what a test it is: in just 3 kilometres, the riders gain 308 metres in altitude, making for an average gradient of 10.3%, with sections reaching up to 18%.

Following the descent and a stretch back towards the valley floor, the road kicks up again on a false flat that leads onto the climb to Triangia, a much more manageable effort at 4.1 kilometres averaging 7.2%. A technical descent then brings the riders down to Mossini, and along the upper outskirts of the start and finish town of Sondrio they head towards the decisive part of the route on the eastern side of the city.

The final 50 kilometres open with a 2-kilometre climb at 7.1% to Montagna in Valtellina. Without any descent in between, the route then undulates its way towards the foot of the climb to Teglio, which adds another 5.7 kilometres at 4.2% to the mix. Both of these climbs are uncategorised.

The riders drop back down to the Adda, and on the far side of the river another uncategorised ramp awaits, rising for 1.1 kilometres at 7.5%. From there it is immediately downhill again into the valley, before the peloton tackles a 1.4-kilometre climb at 9.7% to Ponte in Valtellina. At the summit, they return to the same road they used earlier, only now in the opposite direction.

Shortly after passing through Poggiridenti, another technical descent follows, and on the other side of the valley comes the final climb of the day. It is not long (1.1 kilometres) but extremely steep (12.2%). From the top, the riders descend for 3 kilometres towards a flat final 1.5-kilometre run-in.

The Tissot Kilometre offers bonus seconds of 3, 2 and 1 at two points, while the first thee riders across the finish line gain 10, 6 and 4 seconds.

Fancy riding the route yourself? Download GPX stage 1 Tour de Suisse 2026.

Weather conditions:
Start: 30°C, sunny, light west-south-westerly wind (Force 2)
Finish: 31°C, sunny, light west-south-westerly wind (Force 2)

For the conditions along the route, please click on the interactive weather map in the slideshow below this article.

The race is expected to finish around 17:45 CEST.

Other interesting reads:
- live race report
- full route
- start list
- records & winners
- 2025 Tour de Suisse