Preview: Tour de Suisse Women 2023

Previous winners

2022: Lucinda Brand (Trek-Segafredo)

2021: Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo)

The route

Like previous editions, this year’s Tour de Suisse Women has something for everyone, including circuit racing, a time trial and a medium mountain day. Without too much climbing, it looks like a race for the strong all-rounders, and should be an open four days of racing.

Stage 1: Weinfelden → Weinfelden (56km)

Veloviewer

Stage 1 of the 2023 Tour de Suisse Women.

This year’s Tour de Suisse Women kicks off with a circuit race around Weinfelden, where the stage of the men’s race also finishes on Saturday. Despite being set on laps - three 19km loops - it’s certainly not an easy, sprint-friendly race. The laps are hilly, featuring a category 3 climb and more uncategorised ramps, and the short length of the stage means it will be out-and-out racing from the gun. Some teams may want it to stay together for a sprint, but we’re expecting small groups to try and get away before the flat finish.

Stage favourites: Alex Manly, Lucinda Brand, Anna Henderson

Stage 2: St. Gallen → Abtwil (25.7km) (ITT)

Veloviewer

Stage 2 of the 2023 Tour de Suisse Women.

On Sunday, the women’s race will take on exactly the same trial course that closes out the men’s race, with the women riding in the morning before the men go against the clock in the afternoon. The course is a challenging one, with various uphill gradients to contend with before the final climb in the last 8km. It’s a long drag of a climb, going up for almost 5km, with the first 2km the steepest with a gradient of 7.7%. This will make the TT suited to the more GC-style time trialists over the pure power riders, and could mean some big gaps emerge already. Anyone hoping to do well overall will have to do well on this stage.

Stage favourites: Demi Vollering, Marlen Reusser, Elise Chabbey

Stage 3: St. Gallen → Ebnat-Kappel (124.1km)

Veloviewer

Stage 3 of the 2023 Tour de Suisse Women.

The third stage in Switzerland is a lumpy day that could play out in a lot of different ways, from attacks on the final climb to a reduced sprint or survival for an early breakaway. There are just two categorised climbs - the 4.2km Sitzberg with an average gradient of 5.6%, and then the 6km Ricken climb that averages 4.3% and comes with 11km to go - but the day is full of ups and downs, including a long drag between the two climbs that plays host to the intermediate sprint. Without any top sprinters here, it’s unlikely any teams will be motivated to hold things together to the line, so this looks like a day where a punchy group of riders could go clear in the finale.

Stage favourites: Lucinda Brand, Kasia Niewiadoma, Liane Lippert

Stage 4: Ebnat-Kappel → Ebnat-Kappel (100.8km)

Veloviewer

Stage 4 of the 2023 Tour de Suisse Women.

After a hilly day on stage 3, the final stage of the Tour de Suisse is a more serious climbing stay and will decide the GC. Starting and finishing in Ebnat-Kappel, the route heads north for a loop that includes the category 1 Hemberg - the climb is officially 5km with a 6.8% gradient, but it’s directly preceded by a 2.5km climb with only a short descent between so it will feel like a longer effort. From there, the race will head back to the finish line to do two laps of circuit that includes the 3km, 6.1% climb in Ebnat-Kappel for what will be an aggressive final part of the race. Anyone dropped on the Hemberg will struggle to get back on, so this may be a battle to the line with the last rider standing crowned victorious.

Stage favourites: Demi Vollering, Kasia Niewiadoma, Amanda Spratt

The contenders

Despite being the last big stage race before the Giro Donne, the Tour de Suisse doesn’t have the most star-studded line-up, with five WorldTour teams opting to skip it, including FDJ-SUEZ and some big names like Annemiek van Vleuten. That said, there are still plenty of strong names lining up in Switzerland, and the varied course should mean we see a tight battle for stage wins and the overall.

The biggest star on the line-up is probably Switzerland resident Demi Vollering (SD Worx), who is continuing her race-heavy build up to the Tour de France Femmes in July. After impressive performances at the three Spanish stage races in May, where she won six stages across the month and the overall at the Vuelta a Burgos, Vollering definitely comes into this as the top stage racer and likely favourite. Though there’s not quite as much big climbing as Vollering might hope, there are plenty of chances to put time into her rivals, including the time trial which she is expected to excel in. SD Worx will also have Swiss rider and European time trial champion Marlen Reusser who will go well against the clock and be a good support for Vollering, but could also be up there on GC herself, particularly if she grabbed time on one of the GC stages.

Velo Collection (Dario Belingheri) / Getty Images

Demi Vollering was by far the stand-out rider in the last block of hilly stage races.

In the absence of Annemiek van Vleuten, the closest GC rider to Vollering is likely Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM), who will be looking to make an impact after a quiet May in terms of results. She is a rider who will be in full-tilt Tour de France preparation now, so the climbing stages will be an important test, but her aggressive, attacking style should also serve her well on the punchier stages. The only thing that could let Niewiadoma down is the time trial, which previously hasn’t been her strongest discipline, but she will be hoping to improve ahead of the final stage TT at the Tour de France.

With no Van Vleuten, it’s likely that Liane Lippert will be Movistar’s leader, and the German could do very well here. After a good Classics campaign, Lippert had a consistent race at Itzulia Women, and is a rider who has history of performing well on these varied stage races - she was the runner up at the Tour of Scandinavia last year, and finished her season with 4th place at both the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta and the Tour de Romandie. Coming off an altitude camp in Andorra, Lippert should be coming into her best climbing form, but most importantly she is the type of rider who will race aggressively and take time on the stages leading up to the big climbing day.

Velo Collection (Tim de Waele) / Getty Images

In 2022, Lucinda Brand took victory on the first and final stages of the Tour de Suisse.

In terms of climbers, the likes of Amanda Spratt (Trek-Segafredo) Juliette Labous (Team DSM) and Gaia Realini (Trek-Segafredo) will be riders to keep an eye on, but it’s also worth looking at the all-rounders on a course like this. Remember, it was Lucinda Brand (Trek-Segafredo) who won this race last year by taking time on the flatter stages and pulling out a stunning performance on the big climbing day, so that kind of rider could do the same again. Think Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ), Elise Chabbey (Canyon-SRAM) and Alex Manly (Jayco-AlUla). If any of these riders get an advantage early on, they could well hold onto it through the time trial and climbs.

GCN’s Preview Pick

Velo Collection (Dario Belingheri) / Getty Images

Liane Lippert on the attack during this year’s Vuelta Femenina.

She may not be the biggest favourite, but we’re backing Liane Lippert to have a really good four days in Switzerland. These shorter, varied stage races are where the German has excelled before, and coming straight off an altitude training camp, she should be climbing better than ever. July will mainly be about supporting Annemiek van Vleuten, so this is a big chance for Lippert to race for herself. Everyone will be looking at Demi Vollering, and this will give Lippert the perfect opportunity to go under the radar, race aggressively and take the bigger names by surprise.