Tour de Suisse 2026 Stage 4 Preview: A 23.7km Aarburg Time Trial With Pogacar Last Off
After three days of climbing, breakaways and a storm-lashed road stage, the Tour de Suisse hands the race to the specialists on Saturday with a 23.7km individual time trial in and around Aarburg. It is the only race against the clock of the week and the last genuine opportunity for the general classification contenders to make significant gains before the mountains return.
The course is a true tester rather than a climber's time trial — largely flat and fast, rewarding raw power, aerodynamics and pacing over explosiveness. That profile shifts the spotlight onto the established time-trial specialists, though in a race already shaped so completely by one rider, the biggest questions still revolve around the man in yellow.
Tadej Pogacar starts last on the road, defending the overall lead he tore open with his audacious 70km solo on stage 1 and protected through the chaos of Friday's rain. The world champion is not a pure time-trial specialist — he is at his most devastating on undulating courses — but his form has been so commanding that even on a flat parcours that nominally favours others, he will be among the favourites for the stage.
Behind him, the chasers see an opening. Primoz Roglic, who lost almost five minutes on the opening day and has been left fighting for the lower reaches of the top ten, will target the discipline that has so often been his strength. Richard Carapaz is another marked out to chase GC gains against the clock, looking to claw back time on his rivals and firm up his position before the road tilts upward again.
For the climbers further down the standings, the time trial is as much about damage limitation as ambition. With a flat 23.7km course, the gaps could be meaningful, and a poor ride here could undo days of careful positioning. For others, particularly those eyeing the Tour de France, this is a final dress rehearsal for the time-trialling that will decide so much in July.
A women's time trial over the same Aarburg roads runs alongside the men's test, putting Swiss star Marlen Reusser firmly back on centre stage in front of home fans. With Demi Vollering also among the GC favourites, Saturday's racing against the clock should begin to draw both overall battles into sharper focus before the decisive mountain stages to come.