Tour de Suisse 2021

The 2021 Tour de Suisse began on June 6 for a total of 1,013 kilometres of racing and 17,844 metres of altitude gain across eight days. Absent from the race calendar last year due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, it was the first cancellation of the Tour de Suisse since the Second World War.

This year’s 84th edition begins in Frauenfeld with an 11-kilometre time trial, the first of two races against the clock for the week. The route heads counter-clockwise to the Lake Zurich region, across the Mittelland into Valais and culminates in the heart of the Alps for the 159.5-km Queen stage on June 13.

World Champion Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) will make his first appearance at the Swiss stage race in his build up for the Tour de France. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) and Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers) are among the big names set to join Alaphilippe, as well as Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma), who makes a return racing after a fourth-month break to reassess his career and desire for life as a professional rider.

The 2019 race was won by a 22-year-old Egan Bernal of Team Ineos. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) has won a record 17 stages since 2011, including the points classification a record eight times.