(written by Eric of trackstah07)
  
  The first edition of the Swiss Monte Rosa Tour certainly lived up to its billing. Despite it being the first tour for almost all of the competing teams and riders, the majority of the race favorites delivered impressive showings. The top twelve riders finished within 3’31” of the race lead, and seven riders finished within 54”. Here are some of the stud and dud standouts of the tour:
  
  Studs
  
   Vasco Assis (redop) - 1st in GC
  
  Vasco Assis was the young rider that everybody had an eye on coming into the Monte Rosa Tour. The Season 14 Young Gun had shown flashes of brilliance earlier in his career, but he was yet to record his first signature win. Assis told the media before the race that winning a tour was one of his greatest childhood dreams; two stage wins, three podiums and two jerseys (GC and YC) later, the dream is now a reality. Vasco Assis immediately becomes a household name

with this victory.
  
  Ingeman Kloster (Planet Bikes) - 2nd in GC
  
  Despite unanimous agreement that Vasco Assis’ tour debut was extremely impressive, cycling writers around the world have taken special care to cite Ingeman Kloster’s performance as something special as well. One writer ventured to say that Kloster was “dominant in his own right.” The Danish all-rounder finished in the top five on four of the five stages. Kloster won the climb up Monte Rosa and captured another victory on the final sprint of the tour.
  
   Stepan Grosheva (Burning Bushes) – 5th in GC
  
  The young man from Tajikistan proved that he was among the very best climbers in the peloton. 24 year-old Stepan Grosheva finished second behind only Ingeman Kloster on the King stage, then he finished third the very next day. A poor Prologue and a solid but unspectacular Stage 2 took him out of serious contention for GC victory, but he definitely proved that he

can ride with the big boys up the big mountains. Grosheva finished as bridesmaid to Assis in the Youth Classification.
  
  Duds
  
   Erskine Pettis & Kirk Russel (trackstah07) 24th and 96th in GC
  
  Coming into the Tour many fans were wondering: could a team of downhillers perform in an uphill race? Erskine Pettis and Kirk Russel had been known, particularly throughout North America, for being able to ascend almost as well as they can descend…until the Monte Rosa Tour. Pettis performed very well in the race’s first two stages before failing to live up to his billing on the important climbs, finishing outside the top 15 in each of the race’s last few stages. Kirk Russel was just as much a non-factor from the outset, finishing 96th in the Prologue and 96th on hilly Stage 2. He then settled for 96th on each of the climbs and 96th on the final sprint and just to make it a clean sweep, finishing 96th overall.