The uncertainty as to whether the Tour de Suisse could be held this year gnawed at the motivation of the organisers, the organisers in the host locations and the helpers. The lively exchange with the FOPH and the experts and the approval of all 14 affected cantons in the past weeks finally led to the confirmation of the event.

"When it became known that the tour could really take place, the tension returned," says Christa Cairoli, a member of the small OC on site, describing the last weeks. "The excitement is back as preparations can go ahead for real."

She and Mario Cairoli, her husband and OC president, joined Kurt Betschart, technical director of the Tour de Suisse, and Patrick Bauer, head of destination development at Gstaad Saanenland Tourism (GST), to provide information about the state of preparations and special challenges for Gstaad as a host location for the Tour de Suisse.

Conditions anything but easy
Betschart explains the difficulties the organisers face with a simple equation. While normally the race preparations take up three quarters of the organisation and the protection concepts one quarter, this year the situation is just the other way round. In terms of implementation, this means, in addition to the usual security measures, the dispersal of possible crowds of spectators. The usual advertising cars and any supporting programmes will be dispensed with. The organisers are even setting up visual barriers at prominent points to prevent the gathering of crowds.

A close-meshed testing strategy is intended to provide additional security against Covid-19 infection for all participants. "Unlike the skiers who travel and train in small fixed groups, the entire Tour de Suisse contingent will move as one bubble," Betschart explains. "This results in 3,100 tests to be taken during the entire Tour." Media representatives will also have to show negative test results in addition to the usual accreditation.

TV is key distributor
The fourth-largest national tour, which is also the largest annual sporting event in Switzerland, is forced to focus on distribution via television. The race will be broadcast in more than 120 countries and, for the first time, the Tour de Suisse will also be broadcast by Eurosport. This is excellent news for the event's advertising partners. The 1,000,000 spectators who normally stand on the side of the course will have to be dispensed with. But the longer broadcast times on television bring more than 30 million TV viewers worldwide virtually to Switzerland.

That is precisely what makes it so interesting for the destination of Gstaad to host the Tour de Suisse. Spectators from all around the world will see pictures from the Saanenland. "It's a great pity not to see a cheering crowd on the side of the race course and at the finish. Nevertheless, we can use this international platform as an advertising space for our destination," Bauer explains. The region not only has a beautiful landscape to show, but also offers versatile touring and training options.

Sunny this time
"When we got the request to be a host location again, we told ourselves we'll do it again if the weather will be nice," Mario Cairoli says, adding that they can plan everything except the weather.

Based on AvS/Jenny Sterchi