Kicking off with a 9.4km prologue, which contains a steady ascent into Artore before a rapid downhill into Bellinzona, the Tour de Suisse features nine days of racing with a hugely varied parcours.

Wiggins, Cancellara, Martin and British champion Alex Dowsett will be among the contenders for the first yellow jersey.

Stage two is likely to be where the first major selections are made overall – a 181.8km slog to Sarnen, with the hors categorie climbs of the Gotthardpass and Furkapass en route, the latter peaking at more than 2,400m.

Some respite is offered by stage three – though the undulating stage contains three category-two ascents and uncategorised uphill finish which could play into the hands of a breakaway rider.

Stages four and five, meanwhile, are set up for sprint finishes – the former containing two category-four climbs and the three of the latter’s four ascents all coming in the first half of the race.

La Chaux de Fonds, a tough category-one ascent, will turn the focus back to the GC men on stage six however, while Le Rond-Pre – peaking inside the final ten kilometres – could see some attacks go clear.

The stage seven time trial, as mentioned, is 24.7km in length and appears to play to Tony Martin’s strengths with a lumpy, though not too extreme, circuit awaiting.

For Dowsett, meanwhile, the stage could mark his last in the jersey of national team time trial champion after a three-year stint in the blue and red stripes.

Finally, two big summit finishes on the final weekend will ensure the fight for the yellow jersey goes to the wire – a largely flat stage making way for the hors categorie Verbier on the Saturday, before a tough, undulating route finishes atop the Saas-Fee on the Sunday.