Landa returns to racing at Tour de Suisse after pelvic fracture

The 36-year-old was ruled out of the Giro d’Italia following a small pelvic fracture he suffered from a crash on stage 2 of Itzulia Basque Country on April 7. The Basque rider was able to finish the stage, but withdrew ahead of stage 3 and hasn’t pinned a number on since. 

However, Soudal Quick-Step have confirmed that Landa will feature in the Belgian team’s line-up at the Tour de Suisse, which begins on June 17.

Landa has only raced the Tour de Suisse once previously, back in 2018, where he finished 16th. Ultimately, the race presents Landa with an opportunity to find his feet after a difficult spell with injury and build towards his later goals in the campaign.

“It hasn’t been a great season so far for me, as I had some bad luck, and coming into this race I am missing some racing days, but I’m happy to go there, be back in the peloton and improve my shape”, said Landa in a team statement previewing the Tour de Suisse.

Among those later goals could include the Tour de France. In a recent interview with Wielerflits, Soudal Quick-Step CEO Jurgen Foré outlined the core of the Belgian team’s provisional squad for the Tour, which kicks off on July 4, including Landa.

“Mikel Landa has had all the bad luck in the world since last year’s Giro d’Italia. He had just become pain-free again, but then he was hit by a car during the Tour of the Basque Country. He has had to recover, but is now training at altitude with the team again,” Foré told Wielerflits. 

Lining up alongside Landa in Switzerland is fastman Alberto Dainese, Gil Gelders, Maximilian Schachmann, Ilan Van Wilder, Louis Vervaeke and Filippo Zana. 

The 2026 Tour de Suisse will take place over five stages from June 17-21, and the start list is headlined by the World Champion Tadej Pogačar, with the likes of Mathieu van der Poel, Tom Pidcock and Primož Roglič expected to take to the start. 

“It’s a different Tour de Suisse, with only five stages on the menu and different scenarios for each day. Our riders are motivated to give their best, so we hope for a strong week with some good results”, said Soudal Quick-Step Sports Director Sep Vanmarcke.