Thun-Thun   

Thun is one of the oldest towns in Switzerland, predating the Romans. The mountains around are spectacular and the old town itself has some of the best architecture on offer to the public in Switzerland. Thun-Thun makes use of the town and scenery for a race suited to classics riders, those who can sprint but also climb well.

The peloton rolls out of Thun, departing from the quay in the mid afternoon. Once out of Th...

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Thun is one of the oldest towns in Switzerland, predating the Romans. The mountains around are spectacular and the old town itself has some of the best architecture on offer to the public in Switzerland. Thun-Thun makes use of the town and scenery for a race suited to classics riders, those who can sprint but also climb well.

The peloton rolls out of Thun, departing from the quay in the mid afternoon. Once out of Thun, the flat roads heading towards Spiez do not favour the attacking riders but once they start heading away from the lake the attacks will start. The climbing does not start until after but the first climb of the day is not steep enough to drop any of the pure sprinters. However, once they have summited the Hahnenmoospass they will drop down into Lenk and the work to catch the breakaway will begin. The Jaunpass will be the first climb of the day that challenges the riders as they climb through lush green fields with farm houses dotted either side of the small road. Some sprinters may drop off here but the chase on the other side is usually successful. But those tired from the chase will be immediately dropped on the next climb, the Euschelspass and most will not rejoin. The road up to Rechte Hengstvorsass makes sure that the big sprinters will not be present at the finish with the Gurnigel Pass follows soon after. The sheer number of passes makes this a tough climbing race but after the final climb of the day, the mountains give away to rolling wooded hills before emerging just a few kilometers away from Thun itself. The finishing line, the old castle in Thun is visible as the main contenders and their teams accelerate to keep the sprinters from rejoining. They will fly into Thun with easy wide roads to help them on their way. However, this paradise is abruptly taken away as they race into the old town. Within the last kilometer the riders face a treacherous fight with two roundabouts and a sharp right hand corner that will cause at least one rider to crash, failing to slow down. Only the top 20 into the corner will contest the final sprint so the fighting starts very early. With four hundred meters to go they cross the river twice, but even then the finish is not in sight, for the riders will sprint up an 11% gradient for 55 m which will displace the top sprinters. At the top they will take a sharp left and the finish line, now in sight is only 100m away.

The winner is the king of the Castle. For to win means having a perfect ride. One false move within the final kilometer and any high hopes of a good finish are blown. Very rarely will a favourite win and whoever does clinch the title will be crowned on the ramparts of the castle, overlooking the lake of Thun as the sprinters roll in as the sun begins to disappear.