While this year’s Criterium du Dauphine concluded earlier today, other professional cyclists were getting ready for the start of Tour de Suisse 2023. For some of them it would be their final stage race before this year’s Tour de France and their final chance to test their form prove their worth.

The Tour de Suisse start list included World Champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-EasyPost), Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Thomas Pidcock (Ineos-Grenadiers), Romain Bardet (Team DSM), Jay Vine (Bora-Hansgrohe), Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), and Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates).

Stage 1 of Tour de Suisse was a 12.7-kilometer individual time trial on a flat route from Einsiedeln to Einsiedeln, located south of Zurich.

Romain Grégoire set an early fastest time for his Groupama-FDJ team. It did, however, not take long before Team Jayco-Alula’s Matteo Sobrero completed the stage fifteen seconds faster to set a new fastest time of 13:51 minutes.

Uran crossed the finish line in 9th place, but there were still many riders who had yet to start their time trials. Uran’s teammate Powless was 12th. 

It took quite a while before a rider would beat Sobrero’s time, but Magnus Sheffield managed to do so and entered the hotseat for his Ineos-Grenadiers team.

UAE Team Emirates team captain Jay Vine set the third-fastest time at intermediate time point 1 and was fifth when he crossed the finish line.

Switzerland’s time trial specialist Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) set the next best time at intermediate time point 1 and was the new fastest rider when he crossed the finish line.

Belgian fast man Wout van Aert was fourth at Intermediate time point 1 and proved unable to best Küng’s best time at the finish. He was second when he crossed the line ten seconds slower than Küng.

Many eyes were on Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and he was third at Intermediate Time Point 1 and second at the finish line, six seconds slower than the leader. He would not enter the hotseat today.

Küng won the stage 1 time trial and is the first leader of the Tour de Suisse 2023.

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for additional coverage from Tour de Suisse 2023 and click to visit Wiggle to buy bike equipment and apparel.