CANYON//SRAM Racing heads into Tour de Suisse with a strong lineup led by its Swiss rider, Elise Chabbey. The four-day Women’s World Tour race starts in Villars-Sur-Ollon on Saturday, 15 June. The team’s complete roster is Neve Bradbury, Elise Chabbey, Justyna Czapla, Antonia Niedermaier, Kasia Niewiadoma, and Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka.

The general classification contenders will immediately enter battle mode on Saturday’s short 56km opening stage. With a 7km-long finish climb at an average gradient of 8.2%, the climbers can stamp their intentions on the yellow leader’s jersey. The stage one finish climb up to Villars-Sur-Ollon acts as a recon for the individual time trial stage the following day with an identical final 8.5km. The final two stages provide more opportunities for the non-climbers in the peloton, lending itself to exciting racing to secure the final classifications. CANYON//SRAM Racing have three riders—Neve, Justyna, and Antonia—all eligible for the Best Young Rider classification. Neve and Kasia return to racing after illness took them out of last month’s La Vuelta Femenina.

RIDER QUOTES

Elise Chabbey: “It’s exciting to race in my own country, and especially this year, the tour is based in Romandie, which is close to my home. It’s important to me to have the opportunity to race in front of my family and friends. It gives extra motivation and support, not only to me but also to my teammates.”

“The parcours of the Tour de Suisse make it a challenging stage race with a lot of climbing every day. However, we have a strong team of climbers on our roster here. The last two days give more chances for surprises, and I feel that makes it quite an open race overall. I will help our leaders, and I am confident we can fight for the overall GC victory.”

Kasia Niewiadoma: “My spring campaign finished with some great results and the long-awaited victory. I’m pleased with that, yet I know it could have been better. I will keep that hunger for the next spring classics season. Moving to stage races in May and pulling out of La Vuelta could have been better as I had high ambitions, but health won the battle this time. Coming home from La Vuelta, I took some time for easy riding, making sure I was 100% before starting preparation for the Tour de Suisse. Even though the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is some time away, it’s at the back of my mind in all of my preparations, including this most recent training block.”

“I finished my second altitude camp this year with a big smile and great satisfaction from the work I have been able to do. I was lucky with the mountains’ weather, which allowed me to build a solid base with many hours spent on the bike. After last season, I knew I had to be doing something extra, and I needed more variety in my schedule. So far, my approach this season is working out for me. I’m happy to be back racing with our strong team for the Tour de Suisse.”

HOW TO WATCH

The Tour de Suisse can be followed on X with #tds2024 and #tourdesuisse. The live broadcast is on SRF 2, RTS 2, RSI 2, Eurosport, Discovery, and FloBikes.

Stage 1 | Saturday, 15 June | VILLARS-SUR-OLLON – VILLARS-SUR-OLLON | 58.6km | Start 11:00CEST | Broadcast: 10:50CEST.

Stage 2 ITT | Sunday, 16 June | AIGLE-CMC – VILLARS-SUR-OLLON | 15.7km | First rider 09:37CEST | Broadcast: 10:30CEST.

Stage 3 | Monday, 17 June | VEVEY – CHAMPAGNE | 125.6km | Start 13:30CEST | Broadcast: 15:00CEST.

Stage 4 | Tuesday, 18 June | CHAMPAGNE – CHAMPAGNE | 127.5km | Start: 13:30CEST | Broadcast: 15:00CEST.

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