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The 2024 Tour de Suisse Women starts this Saturday, June 15, with four stages ranging from 10 to 79 miles in length—including a whole lot of climbing. The start list is packed with top racers, including last year’s second-place finisher Demi Vollering, Kasia Niewiadoma, Elisa Longo Borghini, and many riders who can snag a stage win. Expect fast racing and big battles up steep pitches in this short stage race—with slightly lower mileage and half the duration of many of the major stage races, this one should be explosive.
Race History
The women’s iteration of the 87-year-old Tour de Suisse race was first added in the late 1990s but only existed for four years. A new women’s race was added in 2021.
The race is well known for its brutal (but picturesque) climbs up mountains in the Swiss Alps, such as the famed Gotthard Pass.
The Route
There are four stages in the Tour de Suisse Women, including one mountain stage, a mountain time trial, and two hilly stages. While the women will only cover 330 kilometers—just over 200 miles—in the four stages, they’ll climb a whopping 6,600 meters over the course of the race, making it a climber’s paradise. Stage 1, a circuit starting and ending in Villars-sur-Ollon—where the UCI headquarters is located— is considered the most difficult stage in the race, with over 1500 meters of climbing in just 35 miles.
Stage 1: Villars-sur-Ollon - Villars-sur-Ollon (58.6 km)
Stage 2: Aigle - Villars-sur-Ollon time trial (15.7 km)
Stage 3: Vevey - Champagne (125.6km)
Stage 4: Champagne - Champagne (127.5 km)
>> Watch a YouTube video preview of the 2024 Tour de Suisse route here.
How to Watch the 2024 Tour de Suisse Women
If you’re in the U.S., Canada, or Australia, FloBikes ($29.99/month or $150 annually) is the best way to watch the Tour de Suisse Women. All four stages are available live and on-demand on FloBikes.com, the FloSports iOS app, and the FloSports app for Amazon FireTV, Roku, and Apple TV.
The Tour de Suisse Women will also be televised throughout the week on Discovery+ in the UK and Europe. However, there will be no Eurosport coverage.
What Happened Last Year
Last year’s race was shorter by 30 kilometers, with similar opening and time trial stages followed by two hilly stages of 100km and 120km. It was an SD Worx podium, with Marlen Reusser taking the win and Demi Vollering just over a minute behind her in the GC. But just behind them came Elisa Longo-Borghini, then of Trek-Segafredo, followed by Canyon//SRAM teammates Kasia Niewiadoma and Elise Chabbey.
Riders to Watch
Compared to the men’s race, which comes only two weeks ahead of the start of the 2024 Tour de France, the women’s peloton will have more recovery time between stage races since the
The Giro d’Italia Women doesn’t begin until July 7. That means, unlike the men’s race, which is missing some of the top competitors, like Tadej Pogačar, this field is seriously stacked with all of the top favorites.
Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime): Last year, Vollering was second behind her teammate Marlen Reusser in this race. This year, she’ll likely be looking for her first GC title at the Tour de Suisse, and without Reusser in the mix, she’ll almost certainly be the rider that the team is working for.
Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM): Niewiadoma is always a threat in stage races and certainly has podium potential, but this year, she seems to be on a whole new level.
Niewiadoma also just had a break in Colorado for some altitude training and will likely be well-rested and ready to go head-to-head with Vollering. If you recall last year’s Col du Tourmalet stage at the Tour de France Femmes… things could get exciting on these mountain stages!
Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek): The Lidl-Trek team is sending a sold squad to back Longo-Borghini, who’s had a great season when it comes to one-day races but hasn’t quite put together a great stage race yet. She’s been on eight one-day race podiums this season and certainly will be hunting a solid stage race performance ahead of the Giro d’Italia Women and Tour de France Femmes.
Juliette Labous (dsm–firmenich PostNL): Labous is always a bit of a sleeper in races, rarely getting the win, but also rarely far from the top five. She’s been on the podium in seven stage races in the last two years, including a fourth at this year’s Vuelta España Femenina. Certainly expect to see her on the podium, if not the top step.
Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Cannondale): Faulkner just got named to the U.S. Olympic Track Team, but she’s still working hard on the road. She was second at the Tour de Suisse in the GC back in 2022, so a podium finish is well within her capabilities. She’s had some great results, including a stage win at the Vuelta España with her new team this year, and could certainly be going for more at this race before she shifts focus to the track.
Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck): With the amount of climbing in this race, Kastelijn could be poised for a breakout result. She was third in the climber’s jersey standings at Vuelta España, and a race like this one is great for climbers who love punchy courses.
Jolana Neff (Switzerland): The Swiss enter a national team in this race, and it’s being led by mountain bike superstar and Olympic gold medalist Jolanda Neff. She’s a wildcard in this race—though admittedly, she’s using this race as a substitute for racing a World Cup MTB race at altitude in order to work on some breathing issues, so she may not be in top form. Still, she’s a super-strong rider and could send some shock waves through the peloton thanks to her formidable handling skills.
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