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.
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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.