This week's Tour de Suisse Women is the next stop on the Women's WorldTour calendar, with home fans hoping that Swiss racer Marlen Reusser can defend her title and win the race for a third time.
The Movistar leader will face some tough competition at the five-day race, however, with the likes of Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney and Elisa Longo Borghini also on the start list.
SD Worx-Protime, meanwhile, will be leaving their superstars Lotte Kopecky and Anna van der Breggen at home for this one, with Swiss champion Steffi Häberlin and up-and-coming GC racer Nienke Vinke instead leading the line.
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Häberlin's top result so far in 2026 was eighth overall at the UAE Tour, while last year's Tour de France Femmes best young rider, Vinke, finished in the top 10 at La Flèche Wallonne.
With two hilly stages opening the race, leading into a sprint day, a 23.7km time trial and then a tough mountain stage to finish, there's something for every type of rider in this year's edition.
"Like every year, there is a lot of climbing, but that is exactly what makes the Tour de Suisse so special," said SD Worx-Protime directeur sportif Gianpaolo Mondini.
"You race on beautiful roads and through stunning Swiss scenery, so it is always nice to be here. Stages 1 and 2 include some short climbs, so those could be two open and hectic race days.
"With Steffi and Nienke Vinke, we have riders who can do something in that kind of terrain. Marta Lach could also play a role there, if she gets over the climbs well."
The Dutch team is missing an ill Valentina Cavallar, the Austrian having recently finished top 10 at the Giro d'Italia, but 21-year-old Vinke, who was 13th at La Vuelta Femenina, will be one to watch.
"The last stage is obviously the big one, with a summit finish. That stage would have suited Valentina Cavallar very well, but unfortunately, she is ill and will not be at the start. Still, with Nienke and Steffi, we have two riders who could make something happen there," said Mondini.
The team – Häberlin and Vinke, plus fellow 21-year-old Julia Kopeckŷ, Marta Lach, and Femke Markus – will be aiming for the GC in Switzerland, as well as trying to grab a stage win along the way.
"Our ambition is to go for stage wins, get through the final day as well as possible, and aim for a strong GC result," Mondini said.
"The field is strong, with several riders targeting the overall classification, but we will try to compete with them as good as possible. By the end of the Tour, it would of course be great to have one or two riders in the top 10 overall."
Looking beyond the goals and lineups, the race can also be seen as a step forward for women's cycling. As the men's race has shrunk from eight to five days, the women's has grown from four days.
Additionally, both races will run concurrently for the first time and tackle similar – if not identical – routes, with the women starting in the morning.
"We are really looking forward to this Tour de Suisse and to this new format. This year, the race starts in Italy, and both the women and the men race on the same day from the same start location," Mondini said.
"We start in the morning, the men in the afternoon. The start and finish are in the same place every day, although there are some long transfers after the stages. So good planning will be very important.
"There's also [one] more stage this year than last year. I think it is a nice formula to race on the same day as the men. There will probably be a lot of spectators, which also means more visibility for the teams.
"That is always a positive thing. We are curious to see how this new format will work out, but for the visibility of cycling in Switzerland, it is definitely a good step."
