For its fourth edition, the Tour de Suisse Women has been promoted to the Women’s WorldTour but has retained the same format as the 2022 race, with three road stages and an individual time trial.
At more than 25km, the time trial is one of the longest for years and will have a huge impact on the general classification as riders build to the Giro d’Italia Donne and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
Avoiding the big Alpine passes, the 2023 Tour de Suisse Women’s route features 5,000 metres in elevation gain over 327 kilometres.
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The return of the time trial
Not only is 2023 the first time the Tour de Suisse Women has been included in the WorldTour, but its individual time trial is also the first full race against the clock at the top level of racing so far this year.
While prologues and team tests are relatively common, proper individual time trials are becoming a rarity. Last year, there was only one, Audrey Cordon-Ragot winning stage 5 of the Simac Ladies Tour, her final victory for Trek-Segafredo before eventually arriving at Human Powered Health. Her teammate, Ellen van Dijk’s 2022 programme meant the Dutch woman was unable to show off her rainbow skinsuit in anything other than .1 events
But the time trial’s relative rarity is not the only thing notable about the Tour de Suisse’s race of truth. At 25.7km it is the second longest since the Women’s WorldTour was created in 2016, beaten by less than one kilometre by stage 2 of the Emakumeen Bira, won by Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar).
Some races seem happier to host a time trial than others, but generally, organisers seem wary of them. “A time trial attracts less crowd, we know that,” said Tour de France Femmes race director Marion Rousse last year.
But even then, Rousse was contemplating a TT, and this year’s Tour will conclude with a race against the clock in Pau, meaning Sunday’s Swiss stage between St Gallen and Abtwil is an important opportunity for a confidence boost.
One of those expected to do well in both is home favourite Marlen Reusser. The SDWorx rider is among the best time trialists in the world, is on flying form, was among the first names on the start list, and the prospect of a home win may be the real reason for this week’s race of truth.
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