Who are the riders to watch at the 2026 Tour de Suisse?

Emiel Verstrynge had a strong showing in the spring, taking some impressive results in both Liège-Bastogne-Liège (fourth) and Amstel Gold Race (fifth), demonstrating that is well-suited to the Ardennes Classics. 

Let's not forget his cyclocross pedigree as well, as the 24-year-old is a multiple UCI World Cup race winner as well as a winner of the European Championships in 2022. What does this mean for the Tour de Suisse? Well, with the lumpy parcours in store, we could see Verstryne up there competing for high placed state finishes in the opening couple of stages before the race heads to the mountainous terrain.

Before the Tour de Suisse, Verstrynge competed in both the Eschborn-Frankfurt (DNF) and the Lotto Famenne Ardenne Classic (60th), so the Belgian will be aiming to go better in the Tour de Suisse as he builds towards his second Tour de France this July. 

Jarno Widar returns from a left knee injury he sustained in a training incident for his first race in over three months, when he was a DNS at the Faun Drome Classic. Widar is a rider full of potential and demonstrated his talents in the U23 ranks before stepping up to the pro peloton in 2026, where he has displayed glimmers of his potential at the Volta ao Algarve. Following his layoff, we could see a rocketing Jarno Widar in the Tour de Suisse and with his strong kick, and he might be right up there competing on the opening stage. 

The high mountains are still bit of an unknown for Widar when compared to the elite, but he will draw inspiration from the early progress of his contemporary Paul Seixas.

Marco Brenner is a rider with a similar profile to Widar, with a strong punch and fast finish. The 23-year-old has already been on the cusp of some top victories in his career, and he took fourth overall at this year's Tour Down Under. He has two victories to his name, with a German road title and a stage at the Coppi e Bartali in 2024. 

With the nature of the opening stage, we believe that Brenner can embed himself in the top ten of the stage and perhaps finish even higher, with the Muur-like crest located within proximity to the finish line. If stage 1 doesn't play out as anticipated for Brenner, then he is quite able to have a go the day after, even if Tadej Pogacar's presence could leave everyone battling over scraps.

Brenner's last race before the Tour de Suisse was the Boucles de la Mayenne in which the German finished 10th in the general classification.

Paul Lapeira will aim to compete for a stage win in the Tour de Suisse. The 26-year-old Frenchman has been in fine form in 2026 and has showcased his abilities well in races such as Strade Bianche.

More recently, Lapeira raced the Grand Prix du Morbihan and Tro-Bro Léon, finishing third and 12th, respectively. He will be eyeing up the opening two stages in Switzerland. 

Alec Segeart claimed his first Grand Tour win on stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia when he shot off the front of the peloton with one of his textbook moves. Could we see Segaert reproduce an attack like that in Switzerland? Perhaps on stage 3, where Segaert could take advantage of the burden of the chase laid out to Alpecin-Premier Tech. 

That won't be the only opportunity for Segaert, with the stage 4 ITT giving the young Belgian another chance to add to his haul of WorldTour wins.