An individual time trial marks the start and finish of the 86th Tour de Suisse. In between, the peloton works its way through six stages. In addition to three mountain stages, including the queen stage to La Punt, sprinters have opportunities after each hilly stage.

Wout van Aert’s comeback is marked by the start of the Tour de Suisse. The 28-year-old Belgian returns to competition after a period of altitude training. Sports director Marc Reef believes his leader can win a stage. “It usually takes some time to see how your form will be after an altitude training camp, but Wout has shown on multiple occasions that he can be competitive immediately. We can compete for victory with him in the stages destined to end in a sprint. He can also use this race to reach an even higher level for the Tour.”

In addition to stage wins with Van Aert, Team Jumbo-Visma aims for a top result in the final classification with Wilco Kelderman. The climber will be back in action for the first time since his crash at Tirreno-Adriatico. “Wilco has been concentrating on this race. He recently trained at altitude, so that we can speak of optimal preparation. He is ready.”

This Tour de Suisse has a time trial of around 38 kilometres long, which is particularly appealing to the specialists. Rohan Dennis, a two-time world time trial winner, views the time trial as the perfect lead-up to the world championships in Scotland in August. “Rohan finished the Giro in excellent form”, Reef said. “In Switzerland, he will again be of great value to the team. He can assess his fitness for the world time trial championships during this tour. That is one of his big goals.”

Robert Gesink is also making a comeback. Due to health issues, the 37-year-old Dutchman could not compete in the Tour of Norway and the Giro d’Italia. “It’s good to know that we can count on Robert again. Over the last few weeks, he has been able to resume training. He will be ready to give his teammates the best possible support”, Reef concluded.