Taking place in eastern Switzerland, the third edition of the Tour de Suisse Women returns with a four-day race, June 17-20. Starting in Weinfelden and finishing in the twin village of Ebnat-Kappel, the route will be held in the Cantons of Thurgau and St. Gallen. Avoiding the big Alpine passes, the 2023 course features 5000 metres in elevation gain over 327 kilometres.
The Tour de Suisse Women 2023 starts with a 75.9km circuit race in Weinfelden on Saturday evening following the finish of stage 7 of the men’s Tour de Suisse. The peloton will have to complete four laps around the Ottenberg including a category 3 climb. The fourth and final lap will take a different route to the finish line.
The general classification should really take shape on stage 2, the 25.7km individual time trial from St. Gallen to Abtwil, The course with 415 metres of climbing is identical to that of the Tour de Suisse 2023 men’s final stage.
Starting in St. Gallen, stage 3 runs constantly up and down in the direction to Ebnat-Kappel. The two category 1 climbs of Sitzberg and the Ricken are the biggest obstacles in the 124km stage, delivering a total of 1837 meters of elevation gain.
On the fourth and final stage, the riders will face 1915 metres of altitude difference spread over hilly 100.8 kilometres. The climb over the category 1 Hemberg, 45km after the start in St. Gallen, should bring about the first big split in the peloton. After the field has crossed the finish line in Ebnat-Kappel for the first time, two final laps will be completed at the foot of the Churfirsten. This is where the ultimate battle for the yellow jersey of the Tour de Suisse Women will take place. Last year, Lucinda Brand (Trek-Segafredo) took the final stage win and overall victory as overnight leader Kristen Faulkner (BikeExchange-Jayco) crashed in the final corner of the summit finish.
