Tour de Suisse 2016: The Route

The 2016 Tour de Suisse leaves Saturday, June 11th, to finish after nine stages on Sunday, June 19th. In between are two individual time trials, one hilly stage, two fast men's chances, and four mountain stages, three of them with a top finish. Cyclingstage.com brings you the route of one of the most mountainous stage races on the 2016 cycling calendar.

The Tour de Suisse starts in Baar with a 6.4 kilometres individual time trial on rolling roads before stage 2 is set in the same municipality. A hilly circuit through the surroundings totals 187.6 kilometres and concludes with a flat section, while stage 3 may bring six KOM-climbs, since they are all 3rd category chances are it will be for the sprinters in arrival town Rheinfelden.

Champagne is in France, right? Absolutely. But there is a Champagne in Switzerland too and stage 4 goes there. And it will probably a fast man who will shake a bottle on the podium. And a farewell shake it shall be as from now on it’s up to the climbers.

At less than 130 kilometres stage 5 features two huge passes and a 11.2 kilometres closing climb at 8%, while stage 6 is marked by high mountains as well. Leading over a 26.1 kilometres monster called the Klausen Pass the race is set to finish in ski resort Amden after a 9 kilometres toil at 9.3%.

Did we say high mountains? Friday, June 17th, brings the Queen Stage of edition 2016, just like last year leading to the Rettenbachferner in neighbouring Austria. After cresting both the Hochtannberg Pass and Arlberg Pass, the closing climb is a 12.1 kilometres attrition at 10.1%. In 2015, Thibaut Pinot soloed to victory at the Rettenbachferner (Sölden).

In stage 8 it will be up to the chrono specialists on a hilly track of 16.8 kilometres. Both start and finish are in Davos and the same holds true for the final stage, only this time after a short yet tough mountain stage featuring two passes. The last peak is crested with 17.5 kilometres left to race, so the dying kilometres of the 2016 Tour de Suisse are a drop.