Tour de Suisse
The Tour de Suisse (English: Tour of Switzerland) is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France, which is on the calendar approximately two weeks after the end of the Tour de Suisse. Since 2011 the event is part of the UCI World Tour, cycling's highest level of professional races.
 | |
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | June |
| Region | Switzerland |
| English name | Tour of Switzerland |
| Local name(s) | Tour de Suisse (in French) |
| Discipline | Road race |
| Competition | UCI World Tour |
| Type | Stage race |
| Organiser | IMG |
| Race director | Olivier Senn |
| Web site | www |
| History (men) | |
| First edition | 1933 |
| Editions | 85 (as of 2022) |
| First winner |  Max Bulla (AUT) |
| Most wins |  Pasquale Fornara (ITA) (4 wins) |
| Most recent |  Mattias Skjelmose (DEN) |
| History (women) | |
| First edition | 1998 |
| Editions | 7 (as of 2023) |
| First winner |  Rasa Polikevičiūtė (LTU) |
| Most wins |  Zulfiya Zabirova (RUS) (2 wins) |
| Most recent | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Marlen Reusser (SUI) |
From 2021, a women's race has been held at the same time, with the event joining the UCI Women's World Tour from 2023.
History
The race was first held in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. Like the Tour de France and the Dauphiné, the Tour de Suisse has several stages with significant mountain climbs in the Swiss Alps and at least one individual time trial. Several winners of the Tour de Suisse have also won the Tour de France, including Eddy Merckx and Jan Ullrich. In 2005 the Tour de Suisse was included in the inaugural UCI Pro Tour and organisers moved the race to earlier in June.
The first winner of the race was Austrian Max Bulla in the 1933 edition. The rider with most wins is Italian Pasquale Fornara with 4 wins in the 1950s. The most recent winner is Mattias Skjelmose, who won for the first time in 2023.
Women's race
A women's race was first held in 1998, won by Lithuanian rider Rasa Polikevičiūtė.[1] Three further editions were held between 1999 and 2001.[1] The event was restarted in 2021 in conjunction with the men's event, taking place over two days. In 2022, the race was lengthened to four days and in 2023 the race joined the UCI Women's World Tour.[2] The race is considered a proving ground for the Giro Donne, which is on the calendar after the Tour de Suisse.[2]
Winners
Men's race
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Women's race
| Year | Country | Rider | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Lithuania |
Rasa Polikevičiūtė | Ebly | |
| 1999 | Russia |
Zulfiya Zabirova | Acca Due O | |
| 2000 | Russia |
Zulfiya Zabirova | Acca Due O–Lorena Camichie | |
| 2001 |  United States |
Kimberly Baldwin | Saturn Cycling Team | |
| 2002-2020 | No race | |||
| 2021 |  Great Britain |
Lizzie Deignan | Trek–Segafredo | |
| 2022 |  Netherlands |
Lucinda Brand | Trek–Segafredo | |
| 2023 | Switzerland |
Marlen Reusser | SD Worx | |
Men's race statistics
Multiple winners
| Rider | Country | Titles | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pasquale Fornara | Italy | 4 | 1952, 1954, 1957, 1958 |
| Ferdinand Kübler | Switzerland | 3 | 1942, 1948, 1951 |
| Hugo Koblet | Switzerland | 3 | 1950, 1953, 1955 |
| Rui Costa |  Portugal | 3 | 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Gino Bartali | Italy | 2 | 1946, 1947 |
| Hans Junkermann |  West Germany | 2 | 1959, 1962 |
| Louis Pfenninger | Switzerland | 2 | 1968, 1972 |
| Beat Breu | Switzerland | 2 | 1981, 1989 |
| Sean Kelly |  Ireland | 2 | 1983, 1990 |
| Andrew Hampsten | United States | 2 | 1986, 1987 |
| Simon Špilak |  Slovenia | 2 | 2015, 2017 |
By country
| Wins | Country |
|---|---|
| 23 | Switzerland |
| 20 | Italy |
| 8 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Belgium |
| 4 | Germany (including West Germany) |
| 3 | Austria Portugal Spain United States |
| 2 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia Colombia France Ireland Russia Slovenia |
| 1 |  Czech Republic Denmark Ecuador Great Britain Kazakhstan Luxembourg Netherlands |
Notes
- The race was initially won by Lance Armstrong,[4] but he was stripped of this victory in October 2012.[5]
- The race was initially won by Jan Ullrich, but he was stripped of this victory in February 2012.[6]
References
- "Tour de Suisse Statistik Frauen" (PDF). Tour de Suisse. 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- "Tour de Suisse Women 2023". cyclingnews.com. 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- TdS 2020, pp. 8–9.
- TdS 2020, p. 8.
- "Lance Armstrong: Governing body strips American of Tour wins". BBC News. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
- TdS 2020, p. 9.
- Goddard, Ben (13 June 2021). "Richard Carapaz wins Tour de Suisse". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- "Geraint Thomas storms home as first British winner of Tour de Suisse". The Guardian. PA Media. 19 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- TdS 2020, p. 12.
Sources
- Statistik-Dokument Tour de Suisse [Tour of Switzerland Statistical Document] (PDF). December 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
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External links
- Official website
- Tour de Suisse palmares at Cycling Archives