Tour de Suisse 2026 stage 1 preview | Van der Poel vs Pogacar, while the women's race is more open

The Tour de Suisse is a new-look race, and perhaps more exciting for it. In just five days, we'll see punching, sprinting, climbing and time trialling. Add the presence of Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel, Marlen Reusser and Elisa Longo Borghini, and you have the recipe for a fine feast. The starter is served immediately on stage one.

The elite women get going early on Wednesday. The gun fires at 9:26am for a stage of 109.3 kilometres, with start and finish in Sondrio, northern Italy. From the start, the first 56.5 kilometres are relatively flat, before the Buglio in Monte — 2.8 kilometres at 10.1 per cent — serves up an immediate steep wall.

Attacking here might not yet pay off, as after the summit there's a descent followed by a valley section, heading to the foot of the Triangia. That climb officially measures 4.2 kilometres at 7.2 per cent average, but the seven-plus kilometres leading up to it are also pretty savage. This is where a real difference can be made, as from the top it's only 26 kilometres to the finish.

The finale is never truly flat. There's a descent, two short punchy ramps, an intermediate sprint, and then the Bordighi. Climbers will want to shed the puncheurs here, as the 1.1-kilometre climb at 12 per cent will make it difficult to put any real time into rivals. From the top, it's 4.5 kilometres to the finish, which rises slightly after the final descent.

Times
Start: 9:26 a.m CET
Finish: around 12:15 p.m CET

For the men, the start and finish are also in Sondrio, but the loop is a touch longer at 144 kilometres. The first 56.5 kilometres are identical, as are the Buglio in Monte and Triangia climbs. After the second climb, the men continue past Sondrio itself and take an extra loop, which includes the Ponte in Valtellina climb.

The summit of this 1.4-kilometre climb at 9.2 per cent comes 16 kilometres from the line, setting up an even shorter finale, also featuring the Bordighi and the subsequent descent to the slightly uphill finish. The reason the penultimate climb is categorised is because the men tackle this section in the opposite direction.

Times
Start: 2:19 p.m CET
Finish: around 5:45 p.m CET

The weather is set to be dreadful in Sondrio over the coming days, but not when the riders are thundering through the valley and over the climbs on Wednesday. The heat index will reach up to 33 degrees, there will be barely any wind, and rain is completely out of the picture. That comes later, once the Tour de Suisse peloton has long since moved on to Switzerland.

In the women’s race, Demi Vollering, Anna van der Breggen, and Antonia Niedermaier are all absent, which means the first stage in Switzerland could go in any number of directions. FDJ United-SUEZ could employ the same tactic and really push the pace, especially on the tough climb, but are Franziska Koch and/or Juliette Berthet strong enough to finish it off?

Maybe the French team will take a different approach, and teams like UAE Team ADQ (Elisa Longo Borghini), Movistar (Liane Lippert), AG Insurance-Soudal (Kim Le Court), and EF Education-Oatly (Cédrine Kerbaol) take the lead. They are all explosive climbers who also have a strong finish.

The true climbers will have a harder time shaking off the others, but Marlen Reusser (Movistar), Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM), Maeva Squiban ( UAE), Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Premier Tech), Riejanne Markus and Ricarda Bauernfeind (both Lidl-Trek), and the Visma | Lease a Bike duo of Femke de Vries and Viktoria Chladonova will undoubtedly want to give it a try.

The same goes for women who have a strong finish but perhaps aren’t quite as strong on the climbs. If riders like Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon//SRAM), Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek), and Letizia Paternoster (Liv AlUla Jayco) manage to stay in the race, they’ll have a good chance.

Top favorites: Liane Lippert (Movistar) and Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal)
Outsiders: Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ), Franziska Koch (FDJ United-SUEZ), and Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon//SRAM)
Long shots: Juliette Berthet (FDJ United-SUEZ), Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly), Marlen Reusser (Movistar), Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM), Maeva Squiban (UAE), Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Premier Tech), Riejanne Markus, Ricarda Bauernfeind, and Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek), Femke de Vries and Viktoria Chladonova (both Visma | Lease a Bike)

In the men’s race, the first stage will be made a bit tougher by additional climbing, so it looks like we can rule out the sprinters from the picture anyway. It’ll be the punchers versus the climbers— Mathieu van der Poel ( Alpecin-Premier Tech) versus Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG)—and everyone in between.

At UAE, we’re also counting on the explosive Jhonatan Narváez and the crafty Tim Wellens, but with Pogacar on the team, there’s often little room for individual opportunities. How far will Paul Lapeira and Matthew Riccitello go with Decathlon CMA CGM, with Tiesj Benoot as their wild card? And what can the punchers Luke Lamperti (EF Education-EasyPost) and Romain Grégoire ( Groupama-FDJ United) accomplish in this stage?

Bahrain Victorious will feature Giro d'Italia sensation Afonso Eulálio, who seems to have a better chance than Lenny Martinez and Antonio Tiberi in this race. For Netcompany INEOS, we’re highlighting Axel Laurance ; Thibau Nys and Andrea Bagioli are the dangerous contenders for Lidl-Trek, with Mathias Vacek serving as their wild card this time around.

Looking further ahead, Finn Fisher-Black should be capable of this, and of course Primož Roglič at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe isn’t slow either. As a home rider, Mauro Schmid is a very dangerous contender for Jayco AlUla, while Soudal Quick-Step will be counting on Maximilian Schachmann’s unpredictability. Visma | Lease a Bike is hoping to make a splash with Matthew Brennan, and if he breaks away, Louis Barré might just win.

In short: a bit of everything. So, in that regard, be sure to add Julian Alaphilippe and Marc Hirschi at Tudor, and Clément Champoussin at XDS Astana to the list. Uno-X Mobility has a seasoned veteran in Magnus Cort to handle this job.

Top Favorites: Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG)
Dark horses: Romain Grégoire (Groupama FDJ United), Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), and Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla)
Long shots: Paul Lapeira and Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM), Luke Lamperti (EF Education-EasyPost), Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious), Axel Laurance (Netcompany INEOS), Thibau Nys and Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek), Primož Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Maximialian Schachmann (Soudal Quick-Step), Matthew Brennan and Louis Barré (Visma | Lease a Bike), Julian Alaphilippe and Marc Hirschi (Tudor), Clément Champoussin (XDS Astana) and Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility)