Tour of the Alps returns with 12 WorldTour teams set to attend
Five-stage race returns after taking a pause in 2020, with Vincenzo Nibali, Simon Yates, Thibaut Pinot, Tao Geoghegan Hart likely to start.
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The second-tier Tour of the Alps is set to make a return this April.
The five-stage event has confirmed the parcours for the 2021 edition and outlined the teams set to attend, with Ineos Grenadiers, BikeExchange, Trek-Segafredo, UAE Team Emirates, and Israel Start-Up Nation among those on the start list.
Vincenzo Nibali, Simon Yates, and Thibaut Pinot are among the likely starters, with Giro d’Italia champion Tao Geoghegan Hart also a possibility.
The race, which traces in and out of northern Italy and Austria, is set to take place April 19-23. Along with the March Tirreno-Adriatico, the mountainous Tour of the Alps is typically used as a pathway toward the Giro d’Italia.
This year, the Tyrolean event is set to start in Brixen, Italy, and finish up at the Riva del Garda in the same country. The middle of the race will skirt through Austria, including a stop-off at Innsbruck, which played host to the 2018 world championships.
“This edition is, as always, well balanced,” former world champion Paolo Bettini said at the launch event last week. “The stages are not impossible, but tough climbs are wisely distributed throughout the course. The key moments are to be expected in the second and fourth stage, but the other stages can turn out as demanding if the riders don’t focus properly.”
This year will mark the first edition of the race since 2019. Like the rest of the 2020 race schedule, the Tour of the Alps was forced to shut down amid the COVID pandemic last year but rather than pushing back to the summer, made the call to press pause altogether.
Pavel Sivakov won the 2019 edition with Ineos Grenadiers teammate Geoghegan Hart taking second.
Tour of the Alps: WorldTour Teams
Astana-Premier Tech (Kazakhstan)
Bahrain-Victorious (Bahrain)
Bora-Hansgrohe (Germany)
EF-Education Nippo (United States)
Groupama-FDJ (France)
Ineos Grenadiers (Great Britain)
Israel Start-Up Nation (Israel)
Movistar Team (Spain)
Team BikeExchange (Australia)
Team Qhubeka-Assos (South Africa)
Trek-Segafredo (United States)
UAE-Team Emirates (United Arab Emirates)
Tour of the Alps: ProTeam Teams
Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec (Italy)
Bardiani-CSF-Faizané (Italy)
Caja Rural-Seguros RGA (Spain)
Eolo-Kometa (Italy)
Gazprom-Rusvelo (Russia)
Team Arkéa-Samsic (France)
Uno-X Pro Cycling Team (Norway)
Vini Zabù-Brado-KTM (Italy)