Tour de Suisse 2013: spectacle and folk festival

Even the worst doping stories have done nothing to dampen the fascination of the Tour de Suisse. The national tour, which will start for the 77th time on June 8 in Quinto in Ticino, still has an incredible appeal.

from Mac Huber

Whether in a mountain village or in the big city, on the top of a pass or along a lake - the Tour de Suisse continues to captivate the crowds. Hundreds of thousands of onlookers will follow the Tour of Switzerland in the second week of June along the route and turn the traditional stage race into a folk festival. "The enthusiasm for the Tour de Suisse is unbroken," confirms ex-professional cyclist Kurt Betschart, who acts as technical director at the organizer IMG. And Armin Meier, another ex-professional cyclist and managing director of the marketing agency InfrontRingier, which will be organizing the Tour de Suisse from 2015, is already promoting his own cause: "The Tour de Suisse offers sponsors and tourist destinations an advertising platform like no other in Switzerland.

Mountain time trial as a finale
Whether the race program is tough or rather easy, as at this year's event, where "only" 1318 kilometers and 14,921 meters of altitude have to be mastered, is beside the point. People do not miss the spectacle. This year, the Tour de Suisse will be even more Swiss. For the first time since 2007, the stage race does not make a detour abroad, but remains exclusively Swiss for eight days. The small community of Quinto near Ambri in the Leventina is the starting point. The tour will end with a mountain time trial from Bad Ragaz to Flumserberg. It is quite possible that the decision will only be made in this finale, especially as there is only one mountain finish on the program - on the second day....