Many important names at the start of the Tour of Switzerland 2024. The fact that there is none of the four giants of the current stage racing scene, Tadej Pogačar, Primož Roglič, Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard, leaves room for several top-level riders to shine and achieve an important result in the scope of their season. The race week, which will go from Sunday 9th to Sunday 16th June, will also represent an important step in view of a 2024 Tour de France which is ever closer. The route, which includes two time trials and a lot of climbing, will certainly call out the strongest runners who are in better condition than their opponents.
Recent Tour of Switzerland honor roll
2023 SKJELMOSE JENSEN Mattias
2022 THOMAS Geraint
2021 CARAPAZ Richard
2020 Not played due to the Covid-19 pandemic
2019 BERNAL Egan
2018 DOORS Richie
2017 SPILAK Simon
2016 LOPEZ Miguel Angel
2015 SPILAK Simon
2014 COSTA Rui
Favorites Tour of Switzerland 2024
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UAE Team Emirates presents itself without its absolute star, Tadej Pogačar, but fields a team that can potentially make the standings with, at least, three riders. It remains to be seen what the conditions will be Adam Yates, who has experienced some problems this season and who has not raced since the conclusion of the Tour de Romandie, which ended a month and a half ago. However, the Briton is a rider tailor-made for a race of this type and will also want to test himself at the highest level in view of his participation in the Tour de France. In addition to the form of the Englishman, the underlying strategy of the Emirati team will also have to be evaluated, who could possibly also choose to give greater prominence, in this match, to the Portuguese João Almeida. He too hasn’t competed for a long time and in his case too we will have to evaluate his general condition. The UAE also fields the talented Mexican Isaac Del Torowho is very young, but who has already demonstrated that he has excellent qualities, which could also allow him to fight for a top position in the general classification, if the team strategies allow it.
The defending champion will probably aim for success in the Swiss stage race Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl Trek). The Danish climber, after the victory 12 months ago, has further demonstrated that he is a solid and successful captain, as confirmed by the fourth place with victory at Paris-Nice in March and the third place at the Tour of the Basque Country. Alongside him is one of the revelations of this 2024, the multifaceted 21-year-old Thibau Nys and several very reliable wingmen. Another team with more than one viable option is Ineos Grenadiers, who will have the reborn as captains Egan Bernalauthor so far of a truly consistent season that makes all his fans dream and a Tom Pidcock growing rapidly. Both are looking for an important result a few days before the start of the Tour de France and the roads of Switzerland could be the terrain suited to their characteristics as agile climbers.
The air of Switzerland is also very good for the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), author a few weeks ago of a top-level Tour of Romandie enhanced by a beautiful stage victory. The reigning Olympic champion will have the knife between his teeth and will be looking for revenge after the much-discussed exclusion from his country’s selection for the road race of the Paris 2024 Games. In the US team, eyes are also on Georg Steinhausera true revelation of the Giro d’Italia 2024, and after retiring from the Corsa Rosa the young Belgian returns to the race Cian Uijtbebroeks (Visma | Lease a Bike), who will also try to show off all his climbing skills on the Swiss climbs. Alongside him is an expert runner like Wilco Kelderman which in turn could enter the fight for a Top10 placement.
The Movistar team will have the Spaniard as captain Enric Masan excellent climber who is constantly growing in this first part of the season and is almost ready for the Tour de France, but will also be able to count on the experience of Nairo Quintana and on the freshness of Einer Rubio, seventh overall in this year’s Giro d’Italia. The most surprising team of this season, Decathlon Ag2r La Difesa, will once again try to leave everyone speechless with the Austrian Felix Galleighth in Paris-Nice but then disappeared a bit in recent months, and with two riders who ran very well on the roads of the Corsa Rosa as Valentin Paret-Peintre And Alex Baudin.
Who might surprise you is also the little Groupama-FDJ climber, Lenny Martinez. The prodigious 20-year-old Frenchman has had a fabulous season so far, but is still looking for a notable result in a short WorldTour stage race just like the Tour of Switzerland, which suits his characteristics. The Belgian will also attempt the surprise effect Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Dstny) who showed true champion numbers in the classics, but is looking for confirmation in the stage races, just as he is looking for confirmation in the interesting Kevin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), which showed good things in the first part of the season.
Possible outsiders will also be a powerful runner like Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan), the young British Oscar Onley (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), the expert Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), the winner of the last Fleccia Wallone Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) and two climbers like Sergio Higuita (Bora-hansgrohe) e Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), both joined by two solid runners as Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-hansgrohe) e Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious).
Bag of the Favorites Tour of Switzerland 2024
***** Adam Yates
**** Richard Carapaz, Mattias Skjelmose
*** Egan Bernal, Lenny Martinez, Cian Uijtdebroeks
** João Almeida, Felix Gall, Enric Mas, Kevin Vauquelin
* Isaac Del Toro, Alexey Lutsenko, Tom Pidcock, Einer Rubio, Maxim Van Gils
