Tour de Suisse 2024 ***SPOILERS***
A late spoiler thread for anyone that wants it - we can't always leave it all to @blazing_saddles
This looks like a pretty lumpy edition, and includes the spectacular cobbled Gotthardpass on stage 4.
The startlist isn't stellar for GC, with none of the top four or five GC riders of the moment starting, though Pidcock, Bernal, A. Yates, Almeida, Mas, Del Toro and Skjelmose should be enough to provide some entertainment, and then there's Cav-watch (this is probably going to be too bumpy for a stage win for him, but lets see his mountain training)
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
Stage 5
Stage 6
Stage 7
Stage 8
Comments
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I'm especially looking forward to stages 3 and 4 as they cover some of my old training roads from when I lived in Zurich. I'd think the former is likely to be a sprint finish, but it'll be interesting to see if the Albispass from the easier (shorter) side is hard enough to eject many of them.
I'm surprised Cavendish chose this race ahead of the Tour, no obvious stage for him to target and the weather in Switzerland at this time of year can be very wet.
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Cav was a bit behind in his prep due to illness, so I guess he's focused on building the form necessary to get over the mountains (already in the first few days) and will hope the whole leadout tuning isn't going to be too big a job (they did get a win in Hungary)
He might also have wanted to avoid Philipsen and Merlier (Baloise Belgium Tour) for now
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Cav today: "It's not a sprint day. It might end in a sprint, but it's not a sprint day."
Thinks Jayco will power up the last climb for Matthews and "someone like Bettiol" might attack and stay away
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Just had CK suggest that Hayter (in 3rd place after the prologue) is likely to be working for Ineos's main man for the stage Kim Heiduk. I have to admit I don't know much about Heiduk but that feels like a bit of a weird suggestion!
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Jayco rider down hard and didn't seem to be moving
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The BS alarm got set off by Carlton so he's had to abandon commentary.
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This seems....Unlikely.
DK TV2 talking up Hayter today, fingers crossed they haven't jinxed, the lad could do with a result
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Hayter crashes with 1.5km to go. Danish jinx!
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Coquard sneaks off early to take the win
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What happened- de lie had that, did his chain slip or something?
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Bastards. I'll have a word.
That was a fun finale, from the split up the climb (Cav dropped very early), to SKA popping off the front on the descent, to Battiol attack to sprint. Bit hairy all that going on at such high speeds thugh
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Didn't crash apparently, just got held up when his team mate crashed in front.
Edit - don't think it was a team mate, Buchmann I think
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Hayter moves into second despite that, 4" down on Lampaert.
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Adding some local context to this thread (sorry I'm late to it).
Today's stage 3 skirts around Zürich and into the flatlands and valleys of Aargau and Zug. The finale then takes an upwards turn, with 3 Cat 3 climbs familiar to Zürich-based cyclists. The final Cat 3, Albispass, is a lunchtime staple from Zürich. Tackled from the easier East side, it might not be enough to shake out the sprinters. However, with no flat road in the last 20km and 2 kickers up to the line, a big bunch sprint will be unlikely.
The finish town of Rüschlikon, above the coast of Lake Zürich, is famous in Switzerland for its incredibly low tax rate, made possible after Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg paid CHF360 million income tax following the stock market flotation of the mining corporation. The commune held a public referendum to decide how to spend the windfall, and a universal tax cut for residents won by a large majority. The town also hosts an IBM research lab, which won back-to-back Nobel prizes in Physics in 86/87.
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Fun finish again today, with Thibaut Nys taking the win for Trek. There's a spot of Pidcock descending, before Bettiol pointed at his back wheel (maybe a light leak?). Nys crushed the puncheur sprint, think we'll be seeing a lot of him in the future
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He's already achieved more than his dad
"Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago0 -
On the road, yes.
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I obviously meant on the bike. Not sure what else either has done in their life.
"Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago0 -
You do know dad won the odd cyclocross race.
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Yes?
"Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago0 -
Then you will know he hasn’t achieved as much as his dad in cyclocross.
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Stage 4 starts at the foot of the longer side of Albispass, climbing from the opposite side to yesterday. This should be the launchpad for the day's break. The route then heads back through the flatlands and valleys, visiting Küssnacht on Lake Luzern and skirting around Mount Rigi: Queen of the mountains. The race then enters Central Switzerland, passing through Kanton Schwyz and along the shore of Lake Luzern in Kanton Uri. After the lake and the passage of Altdorf, the road gradually points upwards towards Andermatt and San Gottardo: the last 45km of this stage are uphill. Along the way the riders will pass by the start points for many alpine passes: Klausenpass (1948m), Sustenpass (2260m), Oberalppass (2044m), and Furkapass (2429m), but they will ignore these distractions this year.
After Andermatt and Hospental, the riders will climb the main road towards the Gotthard pass, deviating slightly to take in some of the cobbles on the old road / bike route. These cobbles are the same as on the more-famous Tremola (southern ascent) of San Gottardo, but for a much shorter duration. The final kilometer traverses the plateau to set up a fast finish on the cobbles at over 2000m. Following the exclusion of the Nufenenpass on stage 6, the Gotthardpass (2106m) will be the high point of this year's race.
The weather might play a role today, with a strong northerly tailwind pushing the riders up the valley and the potential for freezing rain or sleet at today's highpoint.
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What a lump ....I rode this I think ....went on forever
They scaled it pretty quickly today . UAE look scary strong
"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0 -
Yates looked on pretty impressive form there. Made it look easy.
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A quick overview of the final 4 stages as I won't have time after tomorrow.
Stage 5, the Ticino stage, stays in the central valley of the Italian-speaking part of the country. Two steep climbs up the side of the valley come early doors (5.2km 8.4%, 7.7km 9.9%), followed by ~100 km down and up the valley, and then a final climb (10.2km 8%) with a summit finish in Cari.
Stage 6 has been butchered due to avalanche danger on the Nufenen and Furka passes, meaning there is currently no road connection between Ticino and Valais. 100km and 2200m of climbing have been removed, leaving just ~35km of valley road and the final climb (5.8km 8.8%) to the resort of Blatten, in the vicinity of the Aletsch glacier, Europe's largest block of ice.
Stage 7 takes in two loops of a mountainous circuit above Aigle, home of the UCI headquarters. The stage starts and finishes in Villar-sur-Olon, halfway up the Col de la Croix, meaning the stage starts and finishes going uphill. Over 3000m are packed into this 118km penultimate stage.
Finally, stage 8 is a mountain TT from the UCI headquarters in Aigle to Villar-sur-Olon, a commonly-used route in the Tours de Suisse and Romandie. 5km flat followed by 10km at 8%. Previous winners of the ITT include Aleksandr Vlasov (TdR 2022) and Egan Bernal (TdR 2018).
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Carapaz and Bettiol are DNS for stage 5 after their crash yesterday
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Not surprised about Bettiol - both cheeks were hanging out with a lot of road rash. Hope he is able to sleep on his front!
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Rubio acting like an idiot on the bonus sprints.
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I think I might be xenophobic against the Swiss
I just find them so boring. I don't like the TdS, I don't like the Tour of Romandy
I don't like Stefan Kung or Marc Hirschi. And as for Toblerones....
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They cobbled an Alpine pass with a gazillion hairpins, so they can't be all bad
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