After being cancelled, postponed and ultimately rescheduled, the Swiss summer classic Tour de Stations gran fondo powered by Tissot Swiss Watches finally took off Saturday 8 August from the heart of the enchanting Valais Alps region.

Rolling past vineyards, over high mountains passes and through small authentic Swiss villages, the event attracted over 1600 participants, including many top amateur competitors from across Europe.

In the main event, a 145km Gran Fondo with 4750m climbing, former UCI Gran Fondo World Champion Thommaso Elettrico from Italy broke away from a select group of five on the final Col de la Croix-de-Coeur climb to win in 5:37:07.  Finishing second, Frederic Glorieux crossed the finish line in 5:08:30 with his teammate Daniel Derbertin taking third a few seconds back at 5:08:42.

Elise Chabbey won the women’s Gran Fondo category in 5:37:55 followed by Shara Marche and Sophie Poza to round out the podium.

The 240km Ultrafondo with a mammoth 8200m of climbing was won by Guillaume Bourgeois 8:54:24, while Eva Lindskog from Sweden was the first women to finish in 11:09:45.

Jay Osborne won the Medio Fondo in 2:48:53 on an 85km route with 2850m vertical.  Valerie Schmidt finished in 3:45:36 to take victory in the Medio women’s race.

Tour de Stations is part of the hugely popular Marmotte Granfondo Series, including Marmotte Granfondo Alps on 9 September and Marmotte Granfondo Pyrenees in August 2021.

Worldwide Gran Fondo Calendar