2011 tour de suisse

News and Updates for Tour de Suisse 2011

Stage 9 non-spoiler mode: click for stage 9 results, photos, reports permalink("#09-results-2011"); '); document.write(' '); } else document.write(' '); stage 9 results: levi leipheimer knocks off damiano cuengo beating him by 2:03 with a 3rd place itt performance, stage 8 results: peter sagan (liquigas), the youngest rider in the race, wins his second stage this week, stage 7 results: thomas de gendt solos the final climb to give vacansoleil-dcm their second win this week; no changes at the top of the gc, stage 6 results: steven kruijswijk (rabobank) leaps clear in the final 3 km of the 14 km malbun climb for his first pro win, stage 5 results: borut bozic (vacansoleil-dcm) edges oscar freire after a narrow sprint finish with a lot of bumping, stage 4 results: the world champ, thor hushovd (garmin), gets his first win of the year ahead of yesterday's mountain stage winner, peter sagan, stage 3 results: amazing stage. damiano cunego nipped at the line by peter sagan after a heroic effort; cunego now in yellow, stage 2 results: juan mauricio soler (movistar) wins his first race in four years, stage 1 itt: fabian cancellara wins the opening 7.3 km itt stage as expected, 2011 race previews, 2011 tour de suisse course preview, le direct : live streaming video ... in progress and tv coverage permalink("#live");, 2011 tour de suisse route map, 2010 tour de suisse archived coverage, 2009 tour de suisse archived coverage, 2008 tour de suisse archived coverage.

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Tour de Suisse

Touropia Travel

Discover the World

17 Top Tourist Attractions in Moscow

By Alex Schultz · Last updated on May 4, 2024

The capital of Russia is an incredible place to explore. Visitors to Moscow come away spellbound at all the amazing sights, impressed at the sheer size and grandeur of the city. Lying at the heart of Moscow, the Red Square and the Kremlin are just two of the must-see tourist attractions; they are the historical, political and spiritual heart of the city – and indeed Russia itself.

A fascinating city to wander around, stunning cathedrals, churches, and palaces lie side-by-side with bleak grey monuments and remains from the Soviet state. In addition to its plethora of historical and cultural tourist attractions, Moscow is home to world-class museums, theaters and art galleries.

Renowned for its performing arts, fantastic ballets and amazing circus acts, catching a show while in Moscow is a must. The wealth of brilliant restaurants, trendy bars, and lively nightlife means there is something for everyone to enjoy.

See also: Where to Stay in Moscow

17. Tsaritsyno Palace

Once the summer residence of Catherine the Great, the stunning Tsaritsyno Palace is now a museum-reserve. The architecture is magnificent and there is a lovely park surrounding it for visitors to explore.

Located in the south of Moscow, the palace was commissioned in 1775 and recent renovations mean its lavish interior looks better than ever before with its elegant halls and beautiful staircases.

The exhibits on display look at the life of the empress as well as the history of Tsaritsyno itself. The huge palace grounds are also home to some other delightful buildings with the elegant opera house and wonderful brickwork of the Small Palace being particularly impressive to gaze upon.

Starting out in 1935 as the ‘All-Union Agricultural Exhibition’, VDNKh has slowly morphed over the years into the fascinating open-air museum of today. Remarkably, over 400 buildings can now be found within its confines.

The huge park complex has numerous pavilions representing former Soviet republics on show, such as those of Armenia and Turkmenistan and the distinctive architecture of each of the buildings is always interesting to gaze upon. In addition to this there is the fascinating Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics which is dedicated to space exploration and the fun Moskvarium aquarium even offers you the chance to swim with dolphins.

With lots of eateries scattered about and numerous entertainment options such as horse-riding and zip-lining, there is something for everyone to enjoy; the Friendship of Nations fountain truly is wonderful.

15. Kremlin Armoury

One of the oldest museums in the city, the Kremlin Armoury has a wealth of treasures; highlights include the ornate Grand Siberian Railway egg, the historic Cap of Monomakh and the stunning Imperial Crown of Russia which often has a crowd of tourists around it, jostling to take a photo.

Once the royal armory, there are loads of fascinating objects on display. Perusing the many sabers, jewelry, armor and more is as interesting as it is educational and entertaining and the swords are so finely crafted that you’ll almost wish you could pick up one and wield if yourself.

Established in 1851, the museum is situated in the Moscow Kremlin.

14. GUM Department Store

Standing for ‘Main Universal Store’ in Russian, GUM is stunning. Its wonderful skylights and beautiful facades mean it doesn’t look out of place alongside its illustrious neighbors on Red Square.

With over 200 shops, boutiques and upmarket eateries inside, it is a shopaholic’s heaven and concerned partners will be glad to find more affordable options alongside luxury brands such as Dior and Prada.

The main department store in the city, GUM was opened in 1893. The stunning architecture makes it well worth a visit even if shopping isn’t your thing.

13. Moscow Metro

It’s not often that public transport looks like a work of art. So many stops on the Moscow Metro will astound visitors with their beauty and elegance.

Decked in marble and with frescoes covering the walls, the stations are amazing to gaze upon and are part of one of the longest metro systems in the world, with the first stations opened in 1935.

Using the metro is the quickest and easiest way to get around Moscow and braving the crowds of commuters is well worth it for the beauty all around you.

12. Arbat Street

An elegant yet lively street, Arbat is full of impressive architecture and was once a popular place to live for aristocrats, artists, and academics.

A historic place, it is down Arbat Street that Napoleon’s troops are said to have headed on their way to capture the Kremlin.

Nowadays, there are many cafes, restaurants, and shops, as well as various monuments and statues to former residents such as Alexander Pushkin who was reputed to be a lover of the Russian Empress due to his massive influence in court.

11. Novodevichy Convent

Drenched in history, the Novodevichy Convent is located in a striking building that was once a fortress. This captivating place is well worth visiting when in Moscow.

Founded in 1524, the convent houses four cathedrals; Smolensk Cathedral is the undoubted highlight due to its delightful 16th-century frescoes.

Wandering around the grounds is like stepping back in time. The Novodevichy Cemetery is where many famous leaders of the Soviet Union are buried, such as Yeltsin and Khrushchev.

10. Pushkin Museum

Despite its name, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts actually has no connection at all to the famous poet other than that it was named in his honor after his death. A delight to visit, its extensive collection focuses on European art with masterpieces by Botticelli, Rembrandt, and van Gogh all featuring.

Sculptures, graphic art, paintings and more can be found in its beautiful galleries; various sections look at themes and epochs such as the Renaissance, the Dutch Golden Age, and Byzantine art.

Among the many highlights are the clownish characters which can be found in Cezanne’s Fastnacht (Mardi Gras) and the twirling ballerinas who look so elegant in Degas’ Blue Dancers. Picasso’s Young acrobat on a Ball is also well worth checking out for its interesting use of shapes and colors.

9. Christ The Savior Cathedral

This gorgeous Russian Orthodox cathedral is located on the banks of the Moskva River, just a stone’s throw away from the Kremlin.

The church as it stands today was consecrated in 2000, as the original church that stood here was destroyed on the command of Josef Stalin in 1931 due to the anti-religious campaign.

With its delightful golden dome, spires and dazzling white facades, the Christ the Savior Cathedral is stunning. The interior is just as captivating to wander around, with its beautifully tiled floors and impressive altar.

8. Lenin Mausoleum

Opened to the public in 1924, Lenin’s Mausoleum is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Moscow. The red granite structure is located at the heart of the city in Red Square.

Lenin’s embalmed body lies in a glass sarcophagus; it is a somewhat eerie experience walking past the former leader of the Soviet Union but is well worth doing as you understandably can’t do it anywhere else in the world.

After visiting the mausoleum, head to the Kremlin wall right next to it for more graves of important communist figures such as Stalin and Brezhnev.

7. Tretyakov Gallery

Home to the most extensive and impressive collection of Russian fine art in the world, the State Tretyakov Gallery is definitely worth visiting when in Moscow for the wealth of amazing art pieces that it has on display.

Having started out as the private art collection of the Tretyakov brothers, there are now over 130,000 exhibits. Highlights include the iconic Theotokos of Vladimir which you will almost certainly recognise despite probably not knowing the name and Rublev’s Trinity which is considered to be one of highest achievements in Russian art.

An absolute must for art lovers, the State Tretyakov Gallery will delight visitors with all that is has to offer.

6. Kolomenskoye

Once a royal estate, Kolomenskoye is now a museum-reserve and lies a few kilometers outside of the city center. A captivating place to visit, there is a plethora of history on show and the site overlooks the Moskva River.

Consisting of four historical sites, there are extensive gardens for visitors to explore, as well as loads of interesting old buildings, the former village of Kolomenskoye itself and the impressive Palace of the Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich – once considered the Eighth Wonder of the World by contemporaries.

Among the many stunning sights, it is the brilliantly white Ascension Church that is the undoubted highlight – dating back to 1532.

5. Gorky Park

Lying alongside the Moskva River, the huge Gorky Park is a lovely place to visit. Its extensive gardens are home to numerous cultural institutions and visitors should definitely check out the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art and while the eclectic exhibits may not always feature such incredible sights as a balloon-covered rider on a zebra; they certainly always succeed in pushing back the boundaries of art.

Pop-up exhibitions and festivals can be found from time to time in the park itself and there is an open-air theatre and numerous eateries alongside a plethora of leisure activities.

Whether it’s cycling, table tennis or yoga that you are after or beach volleyball and rowing, Gorky Park certainly has it. In winter, there is a huge ice rink for visitors to enjoy.

4. Bolshoi Theatre

The Bolshoi Theatre is the main theater in the country. The amazing opera and ballet performances it has put on over the centuries go a long way in explaining Russia’s rich history of performing arts.

While the Bolshoi Ballet Company was established in 1776, the theater itself was opened in 1825. The glittering, six-tier auditorium is lavishly and decadently decorated; it is a fitting setting for the world-class performances that take place on its stage.

Spending a night watching a performance of such classics as The Nutcracker or Swan Lake at the Bolshoi Theatre is sure to be a memorable experience and the beauty all around you only adds to the sense of occasion.

3. Moscow Kremlin

This famously fortified complex is remarkably home to five palaces and four cathedrals and is the historic, political and spiritual center of the city. The Kremlin serves as the residence for the country’s president. It has been used as a fort, and this fact is made clear by its sheer size. The Kremlin’s outer walls were built in the late 1400s.

Under Ivan III, better known as Ivan the Great, the Kremlin became the center of a unified Russian state, and was extensively remodeled. Three of the Kremlin’s cathedrals date to his reign that lasted from 1462-1505. The Deposition Church and the Palace of Facets were also constructed during this time. The Ivan the Great Bell Tower was built in 1508. It is the tallest tower at the Kremlin with a height of 266 feet (81 meters).

Joseph Stalin removed many of the relics from the tsarist regimes. However, the Tsar Bell, the world’s largest bell, and the Tsar Cannon, the largest bombard by caliber in the world, are among the remaining items from that era. The Kremlin Armory is one of Moscow’s oldest museums as it was established more than 200 years ago. Its diamond collection is impressive.

The Kremlin’s gardens – Taynitsky, Grand Kremlin Public and Alexander – are beautiful. The Kremlin has also served as the religious center of the country, and there is a tremendous number of preserved churches and cathedrals here. The collections contained within the museums include more than 60,000 historical, cultural and artistic monuments. Those who enjoy the performing arts will want to consider attending a ballet or concert at the State Kremlin Palace. Completed in 1961, it is the only modern building in the Kremlin.

2. Red Square

Lying at the heart of Moscow, Red Square is the most important and impressive square in the city. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions due to its wealth of historical sights and cultural landmarks.

Drenched in history, the huge square is home to incredible sights such as the Kremlin, St. Basil’s Cathedral and Lenin’s Mausoleum, among others. Consequently, it is not to be missed when in Moscow as it really is home to the city’s most stunning monuments.

It is here that many important moments in Russian history took place; the former marketplace has hosted everything from Tsar’s coronations and public ceremonies to rock concerts and Soviet military parades. Wandering around the massive square is a humbling experience and undoubtedly one of the highlights the city has to offer.

1. Saint Basil’s Cathedral

Located in the impressive Red Square, St. Basil’s Cathedral is gorgeous; its delightful spires appear as if out of a fairytale. The most recognizable building in the country, the cathedral is very much a symbol of Russia. No visit to Moscow is complete without having taken in its unique and distinctive features.

Ivan the Terrible ordered the cathedral’s construction in the mid-16th century, and legend holds that Ivan put out the architect’s eyes so that he would be unable to build another cathedral more glorious than St. Basil’s. Designed to resemble the shape of a bonfire in full flame, the architecture is not only unique to the period in which it was built but to any subsequent period. For various reasons, both Napoleon and Stalin wanted to destroy the cathedral but fortunately did not succeed.

Known for its various colors, shapes and geometric patterns, St. Basil’s Cathedral houses nine different chapels that are all connected by a winding labyrinth of corridors and stairways. On the lower floor, St. Basil’s Chapel contains a silver casket bearing the body of St. Basil the Blessed.

Throughout the cathedral are many beautiful murals, frescoes, wooden icons and other art works and artifacts. Outside the cathedral is a lovely garden with the bronze Monument to Minin and Pozharsky, who rallied an all-volunteer Russian army against Polish invaders during a period of the late 16th century known as the Times of Troubles.

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Tour de Suisse last stop for Tour de France contenders

Schleck to defend on formidable parcours

With the Tour de France looming larger and larger on the cycling horizon, the Tour de Suisse represents the last major stage race for the overall Tour contenders and sprinters to get an important block of racing in their legs.

This year's race is the 75th edition of the Tour de Suisse, with the race route visiting every part of the country between June 11-19. Two stages also finish in Liechtenstein and Austria. The 1236km of racing is spread across the nine days, with three mountain finishes, an opening time 7.3km trial in Lugano on Saturday and a final 32.1km time trial around Schaffhousen in the north of the country.

Last year Frank Schleck snatched overall victory with an inspired performance in the final 26.9 kilometre time trial in Liestal.

He was only 13th behind Tony Martin on the day but earned enough time on a fading Robert Gesink to move past him in the overall classification and so pull on the final yellow jersey. Lance Armstrong also finished strongly moving up to second overall and so take the last major result of his career. Jakob Fuglsang finished third. Gesink dropped to fifth.

Formidable parcours

Former Swiss professional Beat Zberg is the Tour de Suisse technical director and played a key role in designer the 2011 route.

“We again wanted to create a formidable parcours. It's for riders with really serious ambitions of overall victory,” he said when unveiling the stage details.

The 7.3km opening stage will immediately shake up the race thanks to its hilly profile and technical descent back to the finish. It is virtually the same as the 2010 stage, where Fabian Cancellara was able to use his power and descending skills ability to overcome the climb and win by one second ahead of Roman Kreuziger.

The race jumps north for stage two to Crans Montana via the Nufenenpass. However the first real mountain stage is on day three, with the Grimselpass and then the Hors Category Grosse Scheidegg squeezed into 90km of racing before a rapid descent to the finish in Grindelwald.

Stages four and five to Huttwil and Tobel-Tagerschen suit the sprinters but the mountains return with a bang on day six when the race visits Liechtenstein. Most of the 157km stage is flat but the stages ends with the Triesenberg, the hardest climb of this year's race.

Stage seven is another hard day of climbing with the riders facing 223km in the saddle. The Flüelappass comes mid-stage before the finishing climb to Serfaus, just over the border in Austria. Stage eight to Schaffhousen is a final chance for the sprinters before the last-day time trial again decides the overall winner and give a real indicate who is on form for the Tour de France which begins just 13 days later.

Schleck wears number one

Frank Schleck (Leopard Trek) wears race number one as defending champion but will face some major competition from riders of the calibre of Tejay Van Garderen (HTC-Highroad), Christian Vande Velde and Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Cervelo) and Andreas Klöden, Chris Horner, Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack)

The Leopard Trek line-up includes some of its best riders. Andy Schleck will no doubt share overall leadership with his brother while Fabian Cancellara will be the huge favourite for the opening and closing time trials as he races in his native Switzerland. Also in their provisional squad are Jens Voigt, recent Tour of Luxembourg winner Linus Gerdemann, Jakob Fuglsang, Stuart O'Grady and Maxim Monfort.

As a World Tour race, the Tour de Suisse automatically invites the 18 ProTeams to the race. This year the two wild card invitations have gone to Team Type 1 and Team NetApp. Both squads include Swiss riders who will be looking to impress on home roads. NetApp has Swiss U23 national champion Michael Baer and veteran Andreas Dietzikerm, while the US-based Team Type 1 includes current Swiss national time trial champion Rubens Bertogliati.

Virtually all the big-name sprinters opt for the Tour de Suisse rather than the Critérium du Dauphiné because it helps them hit top form for the opening stages of the Tour de France.

Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) was not at his best in last year's race and caused controversy and complaints from his fellow riders when he clashed Heinrich Haussler and brought down several riders, including Tom Boonen, who seriously injured his knee.

All three will be back in Switzerland this year and ready to fight for stage victories. However this year it is Haussler and Boonen who are struggling for form. Cavendish got his season on track with two sprint wins at the Giro d'Italia, a team time trial victory and a day in the maglia rosa.

Cavendish will have most of his Tour de France lead out train to help him in Switzerland, including Bernhard Eisel and Matt Goss. Other sprint rivals include world champion Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo), Baden Cooke (Saxo Bank-SunGard), Greg Henderson (Team Sky), Robbie McEwen and Robert Hunter (RadioShack), Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil), Andre Greipel (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Danilo Hondo (Lampre-ISD), Allan Davis (Astana).

They should all make for some high-speed and highly contested sprinting on the days the overall contenders look to recover between the tough mountain finishes.

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Rally Defying Putin’s Party Draws Tens of Thousands

By Ellen Barry

• Dec. 10, 2011

MOSCOW — Tens of thousands of Russians took to the streets in Moscow on Saturday shouting “Putin is a thief” and “Russia without Putin,” forcing the Kremlin to confront a level of public discontent that has not been seen here since Vladimir V. Putin first became president 12 years ago.

The crowd overflowed from a central city square, forcing stragglers to climb trees or watch from the opposite riverbank. “We exist!” they chanted. “We exist!”

The demonstration marked what opposition leaders hope will be a watershed moment, ending years of quiet acceptance of the political consolidation Mr. Putin introduced. The leaders understood that for a moment they, not the Kremlin, were dictating the political agenda, and seemed intent on leveraging it, promising to gather an even larger crowd again on Dec. 24.

Saturday’s rally served to build their confidence as it united liberals, nationalists and Communists. The event was too large to be edited out of the evening news, which does not ordinarily report on criticism of Mr. Putin And it was accompanied by dozens of smaller rallies across Russia’s nine time zones, with a crowd of 3,000 reported in Tomsk, and 7,000 in St. Petersburg, the police said.

The protests were prompted by last week’s parliamentary elections and complicate Mr. Putin’s own campaign to return to the presidency. He is by far the country’s most popular political figure, but he no longer appears untouchable and will have to engage with his critics, something he has done only rarely and grudgingly.

In Moscow, the police estimated the crowd at 25,000, though organizers said there were more than twice that many. The government calculated that it had no choice but to allow the events to unfold and granted a license. There was a large police presence, including helicopters, troop carriers, dump trucks and bulldozers, but remarkably when the crowd dispersed four hours later, no detentions were reported at the scene.

Older participants were reminded of the oceans of demonstrators who marched on the Kremlin in the early 1990s, heralding the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Younger protesters — so digitally connected that they broadcast the event live by holding iPads over their heads — said this was a day when a group that had been silent made itself heard.

“People are just tired, they have already crossed all the boundaries,” said Yana Larionova, 26, a real estate agent. “You see all these people who are well dressed and earn a good salary, going out onto the streets on Saturday and saying, ‘No more.’ That’s when you know you need a change.”

Calls for protest have been mounting since the parliamentary elections last Sunday, which domestic and international observers said were tainted by ballot-stuffing and fraud on behalf of Mr. Putin’s party, United Russia. But an equally crucial event, many said, was Mr. Putin’s announcement in September that he would run for the presidency in March.

Mr. Putin is almost certain to win a six-year term, meaning he will have been Russia’s paramount leader for 18 years. He is currently prime minister.

Yevgeniya Albats, editor of the New Times, a magazine often critical of the government, said that the gathering was the most striking display of grass-roots democracy that she had seen in Russia, and that the involvement of young people was a game-changer. When Mr. Putin revealed his decision to return to the presidency, six months before the election, she said, “this really, really humiliated the country.”

“Today we just proved that civil society does exist in Russia, that the middle class does exist and that this country is not lost,” Ms. Albats said.

The authorities had been trying to discourage attendance, saying that widespread protests could prove as destabilizing as the Soviet collapse, which occurred 20 years ago this month. Officials have portrayed the demonstrators as revolutionaries dedicated to a violent, Libya-style overthrow. Mr. Putin last week said that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had set off the wave of activism by publicly criticizing the conduct of the parliamentary elections.

“She set the tone for some actors in our country and gave them a signal,” Mr. Putin said. “They heard the signal and with the support of the U.S. State Department began active work.”

Protesters laughed at this notion. One speaker asked the crowd, “Are we here because Hillary Clinton texted us?”

Sergei Y. Zhidkov, 50, who identified himself as a Russian nationalist, gave an expectant smile in a conversation with an American. “I’d like to know when we are going to get your money,” he said brightly.

Russian Protests

View Slide Show ›

There were notes of humor, some of it barbed, about vote tampering, like a sign that said “146 percent of Muscovites are for free elections!” Some protesters carried badminton rackets, a sly reference to a pastime of Mr. Putin and President Dmitri A. Medvedev. At metal detectors near one entrance was a pile of chocolate bars brought by protesters for the police on duty. A photographer circulated photographs of a riot police officer holding a white flower, a symbol of the protest, behind his back.

The protest’s organizers have made several demands: the immediate release of prisoners arrested last week in connection with the protests; the scheduling of new parliamentary elections; the ouster of Vladimir Y. Churov, who runs the Central Election Commission; an investigation of election violations; and the registration of so-called nonsystem opposition parties, ones that have been unable to win seats in Parliament or put forward presidential candidates.

It seems unlikely that the authorities will accede to the protesters’ demands. A deputy chairman of Russia’s Central Election Commission told the Interfax news service that the final report on the election results was signed Friday, and that he saw no reason to annul them.

“The elections are declared valid, and there is no reason for any other assessment,” said the official, Stanislav Vavilov. “There is no reason to revise the results of the elections.”

Aleksei Navalny , a popular blogger who has helped mobilize young Russians over the past year, sent an address from the prison where he is serving a 15-day sentence for resisting the police. Mr. Navalny was arrested Monday night after the first of three demonstrations.

“Everyone has the single most powerful weapon that we need — dignity, the feeling of self-respect,” said the address, which was read by a journalist, Oleg Kashin. “It’s impossible to beat and arrest hundreds of thousands, millions. We have not even been intimidated. For some time, we were simply convinced that the life of toads and rats, the life of mute cattle, was the only way to win the reward of stability and economic growth.”

“We are not cattle or slaves,” he said. “We have voices and votes and we have the power to uphold them.”

The blogosphere has played a central role in mobilizing young Russians. During the parliamentary campaign, Russians using smartphones filmed authority figures cajoling or offering money to subordinates to get out the vote for United Russia. More video went online after Election Day, when many Russians in their 20s camped out in polling stations as amateur observers.

“We have a lot of evidence,” said Leonid Gigen, 26. “A lot was shot on video. And then Medvedev says these videos are fake. But people saw it themselves, because they voted.”

The ruling party, United Russia, lost ground in last Sunday’s election, securing 238 seats in the next Duma, compared with the 315, or 70 percent, that it holds now. The Communist Party won 92 seats; Just Russia won 64 seats; and the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party won 56 seats.

One of the few official commentaries on the gathering came from Andrei Isayev, the deputy secretary of the presidium of the general council of United Russia, who warned demonstrators not to “allow yourself to become a pawn in the hands of those who want to destroy our country.”

There seemed little concern about that in the huge, swirling crowd, where university students chanted alongside elegantly dressed pensioners. Galina Bogunets, 74, a retired factory worker, said she wanted fair elections and was willing to accept any result that was honest.

“The one who is elected by the people should be in power, and it does not matter who is elected — Zyuganov who I am against, if he is elected by the majority he should be in power,” Ms. Bogunets said, referring to Gennadi A. Zyuganov, the Communist Party leader. She acknowledged that her life was good and that her family was healthy and prosperous. But she said political freedom had evaporated.

“I have always lived well,” she said. “We are not starving, of course, but we were turned into cattle.”

Reporting was contributed by Michael Schwirtz, David M. Herszenhorn, Andrew E. Kramer, Glenn Kates and Olga Slobodchikova.

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Race information

• Date: 11 June 2011
• Start time: -
• Avg. speed winner: 45.232 km/h
• Classification: WT
• Race category: ME - Men Elite
• Distance: 7.3 km
• Points scale: 2.WT.Stage
• Parcours type:
• ProfileScore:
• Vertical meters:
• Departure: Lugano
• Arrival: Lugano
• Race ranking: n/a
• Startlist quality score: 972
• Avg. temperature:

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