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Tour of Switzerland
The Tour of Switzerland (Tour de Suisse) is a cycling race in stages through Switzerland which was first organized in 1933. The competition takes place in the third week of June. Since 2005, the Tour of Switzerland was part of the UCI ProTour. From 2011 on, The Tour is part of the UCI World Tour.
The Tour of Switzerland is considered a major (last) preparation for the Tour de France, and this is partly because of its many climbs. In that context, the Tour faces competition of the Critérium du Dauphiné, another multi-day ProTour Race which takes place a week earlier in June. The Tour of Switzerland lasts a little longer than its French counterpart and is generally considered as tougher.
In recent years it happened that occasionally a stage took place abroad, such as in Austria and Liechtenstein.
The Tour of Switzerland is sometimes called "The fourth Tour", after the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España.
Location: Verbier, Bagnes, Suisse
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