Tour de Suisse 2019 Route stage 9: Ulrichen

Tour de Suisse 2019 Route stage 9: Ulrichen - Ulrichen

Sunday 23 June - The final stage of the Tour de Suisse has been changed due to the long winter. The Susten Pass is still closed, so the organisation had to come up with a new route. The Furka is the only pass that is still included, as the riders climb the Nufenen, Gotthard and Furka successively. The race will be 101.5 kilometres long and features 3,063 vertical metres.

Almost from the gun the riders tackle the Nufenenpas, which is a steady climb of 13.3 kilometres with an average gradient of 8.5%. Up next is the St. Gotthard. The pass served as a final climb in the 7th stage. The iconic ascent is 12.7 kilometres and the slope sits at 7.3%. The difficulty is pepped up by a lot of cobbled kilometres.

The last climb of the day is the Furka, although the pass is tackled on another side as was originally planned. The climb begins in Realp and amounts to 12.3 kilometres, while the average gradient sits at 7.3%. The first half is toughest and the steepest ramps are 11%.

The Furka is crested with 26.5 kilometres remaining. The riders fly down a long descent before the last 8 kilometres on the flat.

The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while two intermediate sprints (at kilometres 39.3 and 93.) come with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.

Another interesting read: results/race report 2019 Tour de Suisse.

[This was the original route:

The total altitude gain in the 9th stage of the Tour de Suisse amounts to 4,020 metres, while there is barely a flat stretch for relief between the climbs. Following the start in the race hub of the last two days, Ulrichen, the riders tackle the Furka Pass. The 16.5 kilometres ascent slopes at 6.3%, while the famous Aston DB5-Ford Mustang car chase in James Bond’s Goldfinger was shot here. Peaking out at 2,429 metres, the Furka is the highest point on the 2019 Tour de Suisse.

The riders fly down a descent of more than 30 kilometres before tackling the Susten Pass, which is another long yet steady test. The climb from foot to top amounts to 17.4 kilometres and the average gradient sits at 7.5%. The maximum incline on the Susten is 9%.

Another long descent takes the riders to the foot of the last climb of the Tour de Suisse, which is the longest climb of the day. The Grimsel Pass adds up to 26 kilometres of uphill with an average gradient of 5.9%. The ascent takes in false flat sections and steepest ramps of up to 11%. A technical descent leads to familiar ground, as the last kilometres to Ulrichen are the same as the second half of the ITT on the eight day of action.]