World champion Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) bids for a third straight Tour de Suisse this month ahead of his Tour de France bid.
Portuguese ace Costa, who is still searching for a first win in the rainbow jersey, will face stiff competition in Switzerland however, as riders hone their preparations for the Tour.
Sir Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky), who claims he will not be at the Tour ‘as things stand’, will also be riding the Tour de Suisse with a big point to prove as he bids to follow last month’s Tour of California win.
With two time trials, a short 9.4-kilometre prologue in Bellinzona and a 24.7km ‘race of truth’ in Worb, Wiggins will also be pitted against Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) and Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) for stage wins too.
Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) is also set for the start line, where he will compete for sprint success against the likes of John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) in what could be his final race in the British champion’s jersey.
But what else can we expect from the nine-day race, which rolls out on Saturday June 14?
Read our in-depth preview of the route and riders over the following pages.
