The Tour de Suisse () 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 The Critérium du Dauphiné, before 2010 known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, is an annual cycle sport, cycling road bicycle racing, road race in the Dauphiné region in the southeast of France. The race is run over eight days during ...

, it is considered a proving ground for the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

, 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 The UCI WorldTour is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an annual ranking system based upon perfor ...

, cycling's highest level of professional races. From 2021, a women's race has been held at the same time, with the event joining the

UCI Women's World Tour The UCI Women's World Tour is the premier annual female elite road cycling tour. , the tour includes 27 events in Europe, Asia and Oceania – with one-day races such as Strade Bianche Donne and Paris–Roubaix Femmes, stage races such as Wo ...

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 The Alps, Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main Physica ...

and at least one

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also trac ...

. Several winners of the Tour de Suisse have also won the Tour de France, including

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945), known as Eddy Merckx (, ), is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist racer who is the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an ...

and

Jan Ullrich Jan Ullrich (; born 2 December 1973) is a German former professional road bicycle racer. Ullrich won gold and silver medals in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Sydney. He won the 1999 Vuelta a España and the HEW Cyclassics in fro ...

. 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 Max Bulla (September 26, 1905 – March 1, 1990) was an Austrian professional road bicycle racer. In the 1931 Tour de France, Bulla won three stages and wore the yellow jersey for one day. He eventually finished the Tour in 15th place overall an ...

in the 1933 edition. The rider with most wins is Italian

Pasquale Fornara Pasquale Fornara (29 March 1925 – 24 July 1990) was a professional Italian road bicycle racer who gained fame in the 1950s by winning the Tour de Suisse stage race four times, a record that still stands to this day. In addition to his Tour de ...

who won the race four times in the 1950s.

Women's race

A women's race was first held in 1998, won by Lithuanian rider

Rasa Polikevičiūtė Rasa Polikevičiūtė (born September 25, 1970 in Panevėžys) is a Lithuanian cycle racer. She began cycling at age 13 under the influence of her childhood athletic coach and made her professional debut in 1990. In 1997, she won the Women's C ...

. Three further editions were held between 1999 and 2001. 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 became part of the

UCI Women's ProSeries The UCI ProSeries is the second tier women's elite road cycling tour. It was inaugurated in 2020. The series is placed below the UCI Women's World Tour, but above the various 1.1/2.1 and 1.2/2.2 races. , the tour consists of 14 races in Europe an ...

. In 2023 the race joined the

. The race is considered a proving ground for the

Giro Donne The is an annual women's cycle stage race around Italy. First held in 1988, the race is currently part of the UCI Women's World Tour, and is currently organised by RCS Sport, the organisers of the men's Giro d'Italia. The race was previously b ...

, which is on the calendar after the Tour de Suisse.

Winners

Men's race

Women's race

Men's race statistics

Multiple winners

By country

Notes

References

Sources

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tour De Suisse UCI ProTour races Cycle races in Switzerland Recurring sporting events established in 1933 1933 establishments in Switzerland Men's road bicycle races Women's road bicycle races UCI World Tour races UCI Women's World Tour races Annual sporting events in Switzerland Summer in Switzerland Challenge Desgrange-Colombo races Super Prestige Pernod races

History

Women's race

Winners

Men's race

Women's race

Men's race statistics

Multiple winners

By country

See also

Notes

References

Sources

External links