Switzerland’s biggest annual sporting event starts on Thursday 12th June with the women’s race in Gstaad and on Sunday 15th June with the men’s race in Küssnacht. Here are all the important details leading up to the Tour de Suisse 2025.
5th Edition of the Tour de Suisse Women set to thrill
“The battle for the overall classification as well as each individual Stage promises to be extremely exciting,” says Tour de Suisse Sports Director, David Loosli. In the General Classification, high-flyer Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ) and the 2024 Tour de France winner Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto) will challenge Swiss cyclist Marlen Reusser (Movistar) on home soil.
At the same time, former Mountain Bike World Champion, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma Lease a Bike), and former European Road Champion, Mischa Bredewold (SD Worx-Protime), are on the provisional start list and will be fighting for Stage wins. The same goal is shared by Swiss cyclists Elise Chabbey (FDJ-SUEZ), Steffi Häberlin (SD Worx-Protime) and Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly), who will be celebrating her comeback at the Tour de Suisse.
Anyone wanting to win the Tour de Suisse Women 2025 must have good climbing skills. The route from Gstaad to Küssnacht covers 500 kilometres with almost 7,000 metres in altitude. “It is the toughest Tour de Suisse Women to date and the battle for the yellow jersey will remain exciting right up to the last of the four Stages,” says route planner, David Loosli.
Everything to play for at the 88th Tour de Suisse Men
Perhaps Portugal’s Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) can repeat his teammate’s victory of last year? The likes of Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Ben O’Connor (Jayco AlUla) will be determined to stop him. Or could young Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) provide the Swiss challenge. “I’m eager to see if Jan can keep up with the best over eight days and fulfil the dream of the first Swiss overall victory since 2009,” says David Loosli.
This year there are a particularly large number of top-class Stage hunters on the provisional start list. Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) and Marc Hirschi (Tudor Pro Cycling) will have their sights set on home victories for their Swiss teams. With Ben Healy (EF Education – EasyPost), Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla), Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious) and Stefan Küng (Groupama FDJ), strong competition awaits in the battle for Stage wins.
Over the eight Stages, different types of cyclists will be able to play to their strengths in the battle for the day’s glory. A total of 1,300 kilometres and over 20,000 metres in altitude stand between the start in Küssnacht and the ultimate finish at Stockhütte. “In the men’s race, too, I expect the battle for the General Classification to be decided on the last Stage,” says a delighted Loosli.
The Tour de Suisse breaks new ground
“We will be the first cycle race in the world to introduce comprehensive cyclist and convoy tracking as well as a mobile Safety Control Centre,” says Tour Director Olivier Senn proudly. For rider tracking, each bike will be fitted with a small GPS tracker that sounds an alarm in the event of certain anomalies. “The information comes together in our Safety Control Centre where we are able to monitor the entire situation on site and take immediate action if necessary,” continues Senn.
As well as the cyclists, the entire race convoy is tracked and monitored on the screens in the Safety Control Centre. Senn explains further: “All routes and potential hazard areas were recorded in the VeloViewer system in advance, which is also available to the professional Teams before and during the races. This gives us a complete picture of all movements along the race course and any potential challenges ahead”. The Safety Control Centre also has access to all TV cameras and a weather radar. Information is relayed via radio link to all personnel involved in the race.
The Tour de Suisse 2025 is the first time that all of these measures will work together. The various race situations will show where there is potential for improvement in the future. For Olivier Senn it is also clear: “We cannot completely prevent crashes with these measures, but we are doing everything we can to ensure that all information is available to the Teams and that the consequences are as minimal as possible.”
TdS Explorer – The Tour de Suisse for everyone
The “TdS Explorer” brings the traditional Swiss cycling tour to life for the masses – from amateur athletes to families, pensioners and people with disabilities. The focus is on the personal experience. Participants ride through Host Cities (on city bikes, racing bikes, e-bikes, etc.) visiting checkpoints. The “TdS Explorer” is not a competition – the aim is to provide ideas for outings and activities. Participation is free of charge. Find out more about the TdS Explorer here.
A Supporting Program of Entertainment
Visitors to the Tour de Suisse, along the roadside or in the finish area, can look forward to a great supporting program. In addition to the Fan Convoy (advertising motorcade), which travels around an hour ahead of the field, there is the daily Kids Race on the finishing straight and the FanZone (Village) in the finish area to discover.
In addition, the TdS Family Days will take place on Sunday 15th June in Küssnacht and a week later in Emmetten. Children’s hero Globi will be on hand to sign his own Tour de Suisse book. In the FanZone, children can also look forward to an exciting skills circuit with various activities.
On June 21st Tourli – the Tour de Suisse mascot – will compete against nine other mascots in the Mascot Cup Race. All activities can be found here.
