Tour de Suisse Stage 7

Stage 6 may have considerately allowed the sprinters a chance to strut their funky stuff yesterday, but Stage 7 is just going to hurt them because it's gradients all the way in a parcours du combattant that will punish all but the very fittest of the mountain specialists and which looks set to be the toughest stage of this year's event.


Extending over 223km in the decidedly spiky east of the nation, the route takes in the Flüelapass (46°45′01″N 9°56′52″E - worth a look on Google Earth) which, with an elevation of 2383m, is the fifth highest pass in Switzerland. Unlike the rolling terrain to the first climb in Stage 6, there's no easy build-up today either - it's uphill all the way for the first 65km from the start at Vaduz in Liechtenstein. Then it gets tough.

Flüelapass. At 2383m, riders are going to suffer.

75-95km sees the first real climbing of the day: though uncategorised, this short section ascends 701m from Thusis at 720m and Wiesen at 1421m. There's then a relatively flat section, but when you're one-and-a-half thousand metres up riding on pancake-flat terrain is still tiring - this is, after all, higher than the highest point in the British Isles - so the food station positioned at 105km is going to be a welcome sight. They're going to need an extra energy bar or two in the musettes too, because from here it's 10km to Flüelapass and a steep 841m climb up to the top which will sort out the superhumans from the merely super fit. And there's still almost 100km to go!


There's no let-up even after the teams crest the mountain because although the following 50km are downhill all (well, most) of the way, another climb is waiting in the shape of Catgory 2 Norbertshöhe with an average gradient of 6.4%. There's then another 30km of knee relief down to under 1000m prior to the day's final climb, Category 1 Serfaus which like yesterday marks another finish point outside Switzerland, this time in the Austrian Tyrol. The village of Serfaus is notable in being entirely car-free, made possible by its diminutive subway system in which a single train runs on a cushion of air rather like an underground hovercraft. The riders won't be afforded that sort of comfort, however, because they need to climb 477m over 5km to get there.

Serfaus, proving how pretty a town can look if it bans cars. If only everywhere else had underground hovercrafts and a network of ski lifts to rely on for local transport too! Looks a nice spot for a holiday - unless you happen to be Jewish.

Weather: Vaduz will reach highs of around 26C, creating the possibility of thunderstorms and at least a 60% chance of rain. There's every possibility that this won't happen until after the stage is well under way, but ominous clouds on the horizon (or around the mountaintops, you don't get to see the horizon very often in Liechtenstein) will remind the riders that there are other ominous natural phenomena ahead and do nothing at all to raise spirits. Arrival in Serfaus doesn't look much better with a 70% chance of rain.


Predictions: How wrong were we yesterday? Very, basically. We didn't even include stage winner Steven Kruijswijk, a complete oversight on our behalf because the Dutch grimpeur was an obvious contender. Nor did we rate Levi Leipheimer who, with second place, showed us all that being 37 years old doesn't necessarily mean a rider no longer has what it takes. Not if that rider is Leipheimer at any rate - but then, like all professional cyclists, what applies to mere mortals doesn't apply to him. We raised doubts that Little Prince Damiano Cunego had the physical strength required to do battle with the likes of Frank Schleck and Laurens ten Dam on Triesenberg: in fact, he beat them both and hangs onto his top place in the overall classification with a lead of 1'23" after he was 4th over the line. We did put Bauke Mollema in the top five and got that one right as he achieved fourth, whereas we'd never even heard of Katusha's Giampaolo Caruso until he crossed  in fifth place on Mollema's back wheel. We reckoned Frank Schleck would take his first stage win, but in reality he finished in 6th. Ten Dam, our choice for 2nd, managed 8th. We were right about the overall classification, predicting a shake-up, but we really wish we hadn't been - the horrific crash which has left 3rd place Mauricio Soler in intensive care sees the other riders move up one place.


Today, we expect Cunego to deliver the goods and at this point in the proceedings we're also going to mark him as favourite for overall victory on Sunday when the race ends. We're going for Kruijswijk in 2nd, and since we're still gunning for the older Schleck brother we hope to see him take 3rd. We think Mollema will repeat his placing of yesterday and manage another 4th, followed by ten Dam in 5th. Let's just hope there's no further injuries, but we won't be surprised if anyone drops out and abandons the race today - this is a stage as hard as anything in the Grand Tours.

Tour de Suisse Stage 6

It's the last chance for the sprinters to show their stuff today, and they'll no doubt want to make the most of the first rolling 90 of today's total 158km in order to collect a few points while the opportunity's still there. However, a few points is all they'll be getting because after that comes a couple of tasty Category 3s and then, once they're feeling the burn, Triesenberg - 14.4km at an average gradient of 8.6%, which translates to a vertical kilometre.

The stage begins at Tobel-Tägerschen where, following a brief climb, the riders can look forward to a short downhill cruise before coming to a couple of small lumpy bits with the biggest climb in the first half being just 91m over 15km, an incline so gentle the sprinters will still be at play. It's then downhill all the way to the food station at the 80km point where the climbers are going to want to hit the energy gel hard in preparation for their chance to shine later on.

Freire fans will be seeing the last of the great sprinter today, because the race is all about climbing for the next couple of stages.

5km on from the food station comes the day's first categorised climb, the C3 Kerenzerberg Pass. Although the altitude is relatively low at 743m and the total climb a manageable 311m, it's a steep one with a maximum gradient of 10% and the sprinters, realising the game's up for them for the next couple of days, may well wish they were allowed to use the A3 Autobahn tunnel that passes under the mountain instead. The route back down again is about the same gradient, so expect high speeds.


Freire and friends get one last chance in the coming 35km, a gentle uphill incline rising less than 100m, and then the reins are handed over to the riders with the scary thigh muscles at the start of the St. Luzisteig Pass where the road climbs 198m in around 2km - an average gradient of 9.9% and a maximum gradient of 12% - and where the riders will pass an 18th Century fort still in use by the Swiss Army. If any sprinters have over-egged it today, there's a chance of someone abandoning here. Once again, the road back down is just as steep and wise riders will use it to build up some speed in an attempt to carry them through the 5km section between Luzisteig and Triesenberg during which they'll cross the border into the tiny and stupendously wealthy Principality of Liechtenstein - only Qatar has a higher GDP.


If nobody abandons on Luzisteig, expect at least one of two on Horse-Categorie Triesenberg which is the harshest, hardest climb of this year's Tour. Pay attention because the form displayed by the grimpeurs will be extremely helpful in making predictions for next month's Tour de France which this year will favour the climbers even more than ever. Contador isn't here, but you can be certain he's going to be watching to see how Andy Schleck handles the last 15km - and we should too, because if he looks like he's in trouble you might as well go out and put a bet on Bertie because it'll mean he's a definite for first place in the overall Tour de France classification. On the other hand, if Schleck looks good, Contador needs to start praying to god of snapped chains.

A village as pretty as Malbun would be a welcome sight to any traveler, let alone who has just ridden up a 1km high mountain in the rain.

Predictions - the overall classification, unchanged for the last few stages, will look very different by the end of today as those who have been on top drop away down the list. We don't think Andy Schleck will win today because following his problems in Stage 1 he's just too far down the chart for it to be worth the effort - instead, he'll concentrate on honing his technique and making sure his bike is able to cope with the hard time he'll be giving it in just over two weeks' time - but older brother Frank will probably want to give it a go, which is why he's our tip for first over the line. Then there's Laurens ten Dam, the Dutch climber with a string of Mountain Classification including in the 2009 Swiss Tour de Romandie - second place for today, we reckon. Damiano Cunego, in first place overall, will undoubtedly represent himself well but we wonder of il Piccolo Principe ("the Little Prince") has the strength to go into combat with Schleck and ten Dam. Mauricio Soler on the other hand is a big strapping lad and cut his teeth on the Andes of his native Columbia, where the mountains are higher and harsher than anything the Swiss Alps have to offer - he took King of the Mountains in the 2009 Tour de France too. Bauke Mollema is in the running too, another example of the powerful climbers that the Dutch trainers seem to be able to turn out these days in even greater quantities than the Dutch hippies can roll spliffs. That's five highly capable grimpeurs, all of them in the top ten overall and all in with a chance of taking Stage 6, so expect some close and aggressive racing on the mountain.


The weather's looking good around Tobel-Tägerschen, temperatures staying reasonable until later on (by which time the riders will be long gone) when highs of 27 C are forecast. It's not looking so good for Triesenberg, however - the rain's predicted to remain light until this evening when it'll turn heavy; but we all know how quickly weather changes, invariably for the worse, in the mountains. For anyone who doesn't really want to be there, this won't improve matters at all.

Tour de Suisse Stage 5 results (make benefit glorious nation Slovenia)

(Originally published 15th of June 2011)

Oooh, we were close with our race tips today! While we didn't give an actual prediction, we reckoned that Thor Hushovd, Peter Sagan, Marco Marcato and Oscar Freire would be battling to be first over the finish and in all likelhood coming in in very quick succession.

We were close, too. The actual sequence was Borut Bozic in first (OK, we didn't see him coming), Freire in second, Sagan third, Tejay van Garderen in fourth, Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil fifth and Marcato sixth with so little space between them that they all recorded the same time. Not bad, we reckon - and to make it even sweeter, Team Sky's Tom Swift came in in tenth place which is the best result for a British rider in the Tour so far.

Borut Bozic takes Stage 5. Very nice!

We also said that the top ten overall leadership would most likely remain little changed, as has proved to be the case with Damiano Cunego retaining the top spot, followed by Juan Mauricio Soler with +54" and then Bauke Mollema with +16" on him.

Tomorrow will be different. Following a reasonably flat first 145km, punctuated only by a couple of Category 3 climbs and a smattering of uncategorised hills, the riders will have to contend with the enormous Triesenberg just over the border in Liechtenstein for the final 15km, climbing a vertical kilometre to reach the stage finish at Malbun. The sprinters may have their fun in the earlier part of the day, but Stage 6 will be all about the climbers.