Tour de Suisse

The Tour of Switzerland (Tour de Suisse) is a ProTour bicycle race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship since then. Along with the Dauphiné Libéré, it is seen as a warm-up and proving ground to the longer Tour de France, which is held every year in July. Like the Tour de France and the Dauphiné Libéré, the Tour of Switzerland offers grueling mountain climbs and at least one individual time trial, the type of stages that often determine the winner of the general classification in the Tour de France. Several recent winers of the Tour de France have also won the Tour of Switzerland, including Eddy Merckx, Lance Armstrong and Jan Ullrich. In 2005 the organizers moved the race to an earlier date in June, perhaps to make it more attractive as an alternative to the Dauphiné Libéré.