‘We will see if we are really ready for the Tour’ - Pogacar makes Tour de Suisse debut ahead of Tour de France

The race begins on Wednesday in Sondrio, Italy, marking the first time in the Tour de Suisse’s 89 year history that a stage has started outside Switzerland. 

Stage 1 features four categorised climbs, with gradients ranging from 7% to 11.5%, on a circuit around the Adda valley, providing Pogačar with an immediate test of his form after several weeks of training.

“We’ve been at training camp with the team, doing some quite hard training and finding a good rhythm every day,” Pogačar told CyclingPro.net at the team presentation.

“Now we are here for the Tour de Suisse and we will test the legs straight away. We will see if we are really ready for the Tour or whether we need to work on something more in training after Suisse."

“Normally, this should be the moment when we are already ready. We will see,” Pogačar said.

The Slovenian made clear that his preparations since the Tour de Romandie had gone well.

“Yes, the feelings have been great and I can’t complain.”

So far, Pogačar has enjoyed an outstanding season, winning eight of his 11 race days, including Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the overall title at the Tour de Romandie.

The Tour de Suisse has been shortened from its traditional eight or nine days to five in 2026, with the race now featuring circuit style stages that start and finish in the same location each day. Pogačar had mixed feelings about the new format.

“It’s a bit of a shame that it’s not nine days, like it used to be, with the classic stages and big mountains. It’s a bit different, but I think it will still be very nice.

“It will be good racing for the legs and the speed, and a good opportunity to test the legs as well. It’s also good that it’s only five days because you can recover more quickly afterwards. We will see how it goes,” the Slovenian said.

The race visits Sondrio, Locarno and Bad Ragaz before an individual time trial around Aarburg and a final summit finish at Villars sur Ollon.

Pogačar was also asked about Wednesday’s opening stage, which concludes with four short, steep climbs in the final kilometres.

“Tomorrow is a hard stage, especially in the final, with the short climbs. A lot of riders can try something there, so there will probably be plenty of attacks if someone feels good.

“We have a strong team here to follow the moves, and maybe we will try something ourselves and go for the stage victory tomorrow,” Pogačar concluded.