The Tour de France stage winner, yellow jersey wearer, and 2024 King of the Mountains is fully recovered from surgery to remove a perineal cyst that he underwent in April and has been training well to get ready for an exciting summer of racing. Richie will compete at the GP Gippingen and then the Tour de Suisse to build his form.

“Right now, I feel good on the bike,” Richie said. “I’ve been able to spend a good time at home, recover in the best possible way, train well, and above all, I’ve been in one place the whole time. That has been very good for me to be able to put together a new training block. I’ve found a stable rhythm again. Now, the GP Gippingen is coming up, a circuit I’ve done before. I’ve been here in Europe for 10 days now, where I've been able to train at sea level and test the new sensations, and honestly, they have been very, very good. I hope everything goes well.”

Last year, Neilson Powless blitzed to victory at the GP Gippingen. Markel Beloki, Luke Lamperti, Lukas Nerurkar, Darren Rafferty, and Richie will try to repeat his win on the rolling circuit around Leuggern. Richie will then focus on the Tour de Suisse to test his shape before July.

“The Tour de Suisse is a race that I’m always quite fond of,” Richie said. “I’ve prepared for it in the best possible way, and also with an eye on the Tour. It is going to be a trial by fire. We are facing it with a lot of determination, especially since I am coming off a pretty long layoff, but I’m confident because I’ve had a very good preparation. The start of the season was complicated, but I think we’ve managed to overcome each obstacle, and now I’m focused. I’m always highly motivated for the Tour. I have big aspirations.”

Good luck, Richie! The summer starts now.