June 8 to 16, 2013
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| The 2013 Tour de Suisse race route |
The 77th edition of the Tour de Suisse begins this
Saturday, June 8, and runs until June 16th. It is for many riders
the last stage race for pre Tour De France tune-ups. While many TDF favorites
have been using the Critérium du Dauphiné to test their racing legs against the
competition before the Tour, several others will do their fine-tuning in
Switzerland (The Tour De France starts on Saturday June 29).
Twenty-one teams of eight riders each will take the start for
the Prologue time trial in Quinto, instead of the town of Lugano, where it has
started for the last three years. The entire race will cover 1309 kilometers over
nine stages, across the beautiful Swiss countryside. It will feature one
prologue time trial, one half-flat, half-climbing time trial, one mountaintop
finish, two stages with big climbs close to the finish and a few stages for the
sprinters and breakaway specialists.
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| Of the 2012 podium, only the winner, Rui Costa is able to return |
Last year’s winner, Rui Costa of team Movistar, will be back
to try and defend his title against a strong field of contenders. None of the
others from last year’s top five finishers are returning, but several strong GC
contenders will certainly vie for this year’s title.
Several of the sport’s top sprinters will also be trying to
prevent Team Cannondale’s Slovakian wunderkind, Peter Sagan from dominating the
sprints like he did lat year. In 2012 Sagan won the opening time trial and then went on to
win three more stages and the points jersey.
Here is a list of who I believe are this year’s favorites
for the General Classification:
