Sunday 16 June will be the day of the grand finale at Tour of Switzerland 2024, which will experience its eighth stage. The Swiss WorldTour race will end with an individual time trial which, given the route, could bring with it some twists regarding the final general classification. The 15.7 kilometers, which will unfold from the headquarters of the International Cycling Union, ad Aigleuntil Villars-sur-Ollon in fact they will be largely uphill. The gaps could also be considerable and the runners who manage to find the right pace will have the opportunity to make important steps in the ranking.
FIRST RUNNER DEPARTURE TIME: 1.38pm
LAST RUNNER ARRIVAL TIME (EXPECTED): 5pm
LIVE TV AND STREAMING: 3.00pm-5.40pm Eurosport, Discovery+
OFFICIAL HASHTAG: #TourdeSuisse
Route Eighth Tour of Switzerland 2024
The start will take place in the setting of the World Cycling Center, in the town of Aigle. From there they will tackle approximately five flat kilometres, which will take the runners to the town of Ollon. At that point the climb leading towards Villars-sur-Ollon, which is 10.2 kilometers long and is characterized by an average gradient close to 9 percent. The road goes up steadily, with no breaks where you can possibly take a breather and with many straights that can also take a toll on you from a mental point of view, therefore remaining challenging until the finish line banner.
Favorites Eighth Stage Tour of Switzerland 2024
Joao Almeida is ready for the final blow. Despite what he showed on the climbs this week, where he proved to be (perhaps) second only to his teammate Adam Yates, the Portuguese is undoubtedly the great favorite of an ascending time trial that cuts out the other specialists. Extremely high quality long-distance climber, one of the best time trialists around, the UAE Team Emirates rider has already been crowned by the current leader to win the stage and overthrow him to take home the general classification and it actually seems difficult to think of a different scenario unless there are some kind of problems.
However, two runners with similar characteristics will try to challenge him and who have shown good legs this week, albeit not as constant or effective. Wilco Kelderman (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) are however two solid riders who know how to manage themselves very well in these tests to make the difference and could worry the Portuguese, who could also have some possible revelations to beat him. A runner like Isaac Del Toro has in fact shown an extraordinary propensity for this type of effort and he too has shown an excellent leg this week, presenting himself as the perfect launcher for his two captains. Finn Fisher-Black could also do very well, in turn decidedly effective at the team’s service, despite some amnesia. The hypothesis that Yates may not be able to find a day of grace to make up for everything uphill that he will inevitably concede in the first flat section should not be completely ruled out.
Among the specialists, pay attention to two solid and complete riders such as Stefan Kung (Groupama-FDJ) and Nelson Oliveira (Movistar). The former held the group’s wheels for a long time today, probably also as a way to test himself for tomorrow, and on not too steep climbs he still manages to apply great power to be able to prevail. Similar story for the rider of the Spanish team, who in addition to his time trial skills has often shown in his career that he can also have his say on climbs.
Also potential outsiders are riders like Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) and Ben Tulett (Visma|Lease a Bike), who themselves are quite complete and still had a good week, even if the 22-year-old wasn’t seen much, unlike his compatriot , who spent a lot in the service of the captains, including today. Climbers who could do well are men like Oscar Onely (Team dsm-firmenich) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), who have shown themselves to be among the brightest on the climb, as well as the revelation Matthew Riccitello (Israel Premier Tech), who so far it has never offered great tests against time, but who knows, it might want to continue to surprise. On the defensive it will inevitably be Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) and Enric Mas (Movistar), even if both on their best days were able to produce excellent performances against the clock, even in tests that were not necessarily so suitable. A complete rider like Kevin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), looking for reassurance ahead of the Tour, could try to make up for a disappointing week.
Bag of the Favorites Eighth Stage Tour of Switzerland 2024
***** Joao Almeida
**** Wilco Kelderman, Mattias Skjelmose
*** Isaac Del Toro, Stefan Kung, Adam Yates
** Nelson Oliveira, Matthew Riccitello, Ben Tulett, Kevin Vauquelin
* Finn Fisher-Black, Ethan Hayter, Enric Mas, Oscar Onley, Tom Pidcock,
Predicted weather Eighth stage of the Tour of Switzerland 2024
Partly cloudy. Chance of precipitation: 10%. Humidity: 63%. Wind direction E up to 14 km/h. Expected temperature: minimum 11°, maximum 19°.
Major pitfalls Eighth stage of the Tour of Switzerland 2024
Short and “heavy” time trial from the point of view of importance in terms of ranking: it will therefore be important to be able to maintain a high pace for the entire duration of the race, considering that, in fact, it is a hill climb. As far as the track and the weather conditions are concerned, there shouldn’t be any problems: it will therefore all be in the runners’ legs and in what will be left in their respective energy tanks after a very intense week of racing.
Altimetry and Plan of the Eighth Stage of the Tour of Switzerland 2024
Timetable Eighth Stage Tour of Switzerland 2024
Tour of Switzerland 2024 Stage 8 Timetable
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