The Tour de Suisse 2024 promises one of its hardest editions in recent history with total of five consecutive mountain finishes. The pride of organizers was the sixth stage from Locarno to Blatten, crossing the special prize and highest point on the route - the Nufenen Pass. However adverse weather (snow) will not allow for the mountain pass to be used next Friday.
The organizing party informs about this on Tour de Suisse Twitter: "The queen stage of the Tour de Suisse is scheduled for Friday, 14 June 2024. This stage was originally supposed to lead from Locarno via the Nufenen Pass into Valais to Blatten-Belalp. However, the Nufenen Pass is still impassable due to large amounts of snow. This means that the queen stage will not cross the Nufenen Pass as planned."
What are the other options of organizers then? "The Tour de Suisse management is currently clarifying two alternative routes with the authorities of the cantons of Valais, Ticino and Uri. Option A: Start in Locarno and head towards Valais via the Gotthard and Furka Passes. Option B: Start in Ulrichen and shorten the stage."
The first option sounds like a very intimidating alternative to the original route, replacing the long but steady Nufenen pass (22 km a 6%) with two shorter, but arguably even harder pass: Gotthard Pass (17 km a 7%) and Furka Pass (12 km a 7.5%). Furka Pass was climbed from the other side in last year edition's fifth stage. The one that went down in the history books as a dark moment for cycling.
On the other hand a shortened stage from Ulrichen would turn what was projected as a queen stage into a relatively boring mountain sprint, with just 30 kilometers mostly downhill to Breiten, where riders would turn right for the final ascent. As a fan of cycling, I hope the option A will pull through.
Read also
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
Loading
BREAKING NEWS⚠️ . More information will follow soon. . #tds #tourdesuisse #tds2024 #cycling #nufenenpass
Write a comment