Home favourite Marlen Reusser and Demi Vollering top strong field – Analysing the Tour de Suisse Women contenders

The Women's WorldTour continues this week with the fifth instalment of the rebooted Tour de Suisse Women. Though only brought back in 2021, then only as a two-stage race, the event has grown to four stages in its current form, with a consistently challenging parcours that attracts a strong line-up in the run-up to the Giro d'Italia Women and Tour de France Femmes.

This year is no different, with a whole host of top GC riders heading to Switzerland for the race that kicks off on Thursday with a tough stage around Gstaad. Defending champion Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ) comes to the race fresh off winning the Volta a Catalunya, whilst Marlen Reusser (Movistar) is aiming to win her home tour for the second time, and looks strong after winning the Vuelta a Burgos.

Vollering and Reusser will be up against their former teammate Mischa Bredewold (SD Worx-Protime), Tour de France champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto), and several other challengers over the four stages that are tough, but still very open. 

When the race arrives in the final finish town of Küssnacht on Sunday, who could be the winner? Let's look at the key contenders – plus you can explore the full Tour de Suisse Women route.

Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ)

As she does in most stage races she starts, Demi Vollering tops the list of favourites for the Tour de Suisse Women this year. The former Tour de France champion has ridden four stage races this season and won them all, including the Vuelta Femenina and the Volta a Catalunya that wrapped up on Sunday. She's also the defending champion here, and whilst she's not Swiss, she does live in Switzerland, so these are basically home roads for the Dutchwoman. She is certainly the favourite, but not by head and shoulders, as there aren't any huge climbs, so she may find she can't just rip things apart at will.

Given the course is somewhat less mountainous than other races this year, Vollering heads to Suisse without lieutenants Juliette Labous and Évita Muzic, and will instead look to Elise Chabbey as a key support rider. But the Swiss rider could also be a contender in her own right, having finished second in Catalunya with a stage win. Vollering will be the GC leader, but keep an eye on the ever-aggressive Chabbey.

Marlen Reusser (Movistar)

Though a semi-home race for Vollering, this is a true home tour for Marlen Reusser, Switzerland's best female cyclist. After a difficult 2024, Reusser is on a new team and back to her very best this year, having already shown her climbing and GC abilities with a win in the Vuelta a Burgos and second place at the Vuelta Femenina.

She'll be lamenting the lack of a TT in the Tour de Suisse, but she was leading Burgos even before the final time trial, and she should be expected to challenge on the medium-difficulty climbs in Switzerland too, particularly as there are no stages really designed for the pure climbers. The home aspect will add some extra motivation, too, as she looks to take a second Suisse title after winning in 2023. 

Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto)

The Tour de Suisse will mark Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney's first race in over a month, having not pinned on a number since the Vuelta, where she took on a support role. Since then, the Tour de France Femmes champion has been training at altitude in Colorado, and the Tour de Suisse is likely to be the start of her campaign towards title defence in France in July. This means her form is fairly unknown, and it's not even clear if she wants to target the overall in Switzerland or use it as a return to racing. But Niewiadoma-Phinney is a rider who always wants to race, so if she's there and healthy, it's hard to imagine her not getting involved in the action, particularly given she's only raced two stage races this year. That's less than all her Tour rivals, too. 

However, if she takes a more backseat role as she did at the Vuelta, Canyon-SRAM have plenty of other strong riders to rely on, including Suisse runner-up in 2024, Neve Bradbury, Tour de France stage winner Ricarda Bauernfeind, and young star Justyna Czapla. If not a top GC result with Niewiadoma-Phinney, the team will still hope to get something from this race, having not won since the Tour Down Under. 

Mischa Bredewold (SD Worx-Protime)

Since the departure of Vollering and Reusser from SD Worx-Protime, Mischa Bredewold has stepped into more of a leadership role at the team, and these shorter stage races like the Tour de Suisse are exactly where she can shine. The week-long races seem a touch outside of her remit at present, being more of a Classics rider than a climber, but she excels on the punchy stages, as demonstrated by her two stage wins and second overall at Itzulia Women last month. 

With no Anna van der Breggen and a strong support team around her, Bredewold should hope to put together a good GC result over the four days in Switzerland. If the Dutchwoman isn't quite up to it, SD Worx can also look to Blanka Vas as a slightly stronger climber. 

Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal)

AG Insurance-Soudal head to this race with a few options, but Justine Ghekiere is their best chance for a strong overall result. She's been racing well in these short stage races so far this year, taking fourth at Itzulia and second at the Tour of Norway, and looks to be getting back into shape after a slightly lacklustre spring. A climbing specialist, Ghekiere may find that the climbs aren't as hard as she'd like, but her aggression could definitely see her take some time or a stage win that would contribute to a strong overall result. Teammate Urška Žigart also tends to do well at this race, and they'll be flanked by Mireia Benito and Sarah Gigante in a strong AG Insurance line-up.

Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly)

Another home rider, Noemi Rüegg will be flying the Swiss flag for EF Education-Oatly, and should be their number one, though really any of the EF line-up could be aiming at the top 10 here, given the climbing strength in Cadzow, Kerbaol and Ewers. Tour Down Under winner Rüegg is the most complete GC rider though, and will be one to watch as she makes a return to racing for the first time since breaking her collarbone at Flèche Wallonne. She's good in the medium hills and will be extra motivated in her home race.

Marion Bunel (Visma-Lease a Bike)

The Volta a Catalunya may have looked like the FDJ-SUEZ show with the team winning the three stages and taking first and second overall, but in third was Marion Bunel, who is really showing why she's been so tipped for greatness. A poor TTT undid her overall bid at the Vuelta, but she was very strong on the tough stages, proving her climbing ability, and the confidence boost in Catalunya should see her take on the Tour de Suisse with renewed vigour.

Visma may start with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot as their leader on paper, and this race will be an important test for her in the build-up to the Tour de France, especially after her Vuelta abandon. But her form is fairly unknown, as Bunel may have a better shot at success if she takes the chance to go for herself whilst her compatriot thinks more long-term.

Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek)

Lidl-Trek are another team who head to this race with several riders who could do well, and no one clear leader. Riejanne Markus arrives straight off of fourth overall at the Tour of Britain Women, but that was a very different race, and Amanda Spratt, though a strong climber, is probably now more of a domestique than a leader. That means it's probably going to be Niamh Fisher-Black who leads the team in Switzerland. A new signing for 2025, Fisher-Black has been shining now she's away from SD Worx, taking two top-10s in the Ardennes before finishing sixth overall at the Vuelta, so she seems like a top contender for the Tour de Suisse, especially with a strong team around her. 

Gaia Realini will also line-up for Trek, but the prodigious climber has had a tough 2025, with no top results to speak of, and she didn't start Vuelta a Burgos, so this will be more a testing event for her than a race with any big expectations. 

Honourable mentions

• Nienke Vinke and Marta Cavalli (Picnic-PostNL) – Vinke should be a contender for the top 10 whilst Cavalli returns to stage racing ahead of the Giro
• Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) – Tour stage winner fresh off third overall at Vuelta a Burgos, leading a varied Fenix-Deceuninck team
• Mavi García (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) – Jayco GC leader on an upwards trajectory as season goes on