Switzerland may conjure up images of alpine passes and ceaseless climbing, but it will take more than just climbing prowess to win the Tour de Suisse. The race is bookended by both a team time trial and an individual time trial, while a number of mountain stages with downhill finishes could mean breakaway tactics will play a role in deciding the overall winner.

Two teams bringing more than one potential GC contender to the race are Movistar and BMC, setting up quite the battle royale—both amongst teams, and potentially within them.

Our top picks for the race consist mainly of those who are both quick enough to fly up the mountains, and also strong enough to push hard on the flats. Those who possess these dual capabilities are not only hoping to take the win at the Tour de Suisse, but also stand a chance at the fight for yellow come July.

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Mikel Landa

The first of Movistar’s three-pronged approach, Landa will be making his Tour de Suisse debut this year. The former Team Sky lieutenant made the move to Movistar in 2018 to spread his wings as a GC contender after a strong 4th place finish in last year’s Tour de France.

With a podium placing in the Vuelta al País Vasco and 6th place in both the Vuelta a Andalucia and Tirreno-Adriatico this year, the Spaniard has already proven his potential, and will look to further his case as a team leader.

Nairo Quintana

The little Colombian climber is known to pack quite the punch, but has yet to achieve his biggest goal–winning the Tour de France. This year, instead of racing the Giro d’Italia as he has in the past, he decided to focus on specifically training for the Tour. This race will no doubt see him put the final touches on his form leading up to his target for the season.

Quintana isn’t known for his time trialing abilities, so the first and the final stages of the race will be crucial if he hopes to win.

Alejandro Valverde

It’s hard to count Alejandro Valverde out of any race he enters, no matter what type of race it is. The jack-of-all-trades has won everything from the Vuelta a España, to early season one-week stage races, to monuments.

This year alone, he has already taken multiple GC wins, including Valenciana, Abu Dhabi, and Catalunya. He had yet another strong classics season in the spring, finishing in the top 5 on three separate occasions.
While he may be getting close to the age of a normal pro’s retirement at 38 years old, Valverde doesn’t look to be slowing down at all. We’ll be looking for him to light up the action as usual in the race.

Richie Porte

Another of Chris Froome and Team Sky’s former lieutenants, Porte has spent the last several years hunting for his own success, but not without difficulty. Crashes, ill-timed mechanicals, and bad days on the bike have seen Porte struggle during some of his biggest goals.

This year, Porte is looking to prove the doubters wrong, and has already finished 2nd in the Tour Down Under, perhaps his favorite race. He also finished on the podium earlier this year at the Tour de Romandie, another week-long stage race in Switzerland, and a good sign for the Australian as he looks ahead to the Tour.

Tejay van Garderen

Perhaps the answer to Movistar’s three-pronged GC approach, Van Garderen will combine forces with Porte and Rohan Dennis. Van Garderen looks to be the biggest American hope in Switzerland. While his best GC finish at the race is 6th place, Tejay comes into this year’s edition following a strong 2nd place at the Amgen Tour of California, where he took a stage win in the individual time trial. The best American GC rider of his generation, Van Garderen has struggled in major stage races over the last few years. However, he will be fighting to put up a solid performance in front of the team’s Swiss sponsors BMC and Assos.

Jakob Fuglsang

The 33 year old on Astana has quite surprisingly opted to come to this race instead of defending his Criterium du Dauphine title from 2017. Fuglsang has already proven his GC prowess this year, finishing 3rd in Valenciana and 4th in both Andalucia and the Tour de Romandie. He also took an impressive stage victory at Romandie, something that the Dane will no doubt be looking to replicate here at the Tour de Suisse.

Bauke Mollema

The Dutch rider on Trek Segafredo is a seasoned pro, and has been nothing if not consistent in his performances throughout the years. As far back as 2013, Mollema finished 2nd in the Tour de Suisse, and this year he will certainly be looking to improve upon that placing.
The 31 year old has already racked up 3 top ten GC placings this year, with an impressive 2nd place finish at Coppi e Bartali. He will once again be targeting the Tour de France, and much like the other GC contenders at this race, will be aiming to put the finishing touches on his form at the Tour de Suisse before he heads to France.