Marc Hirschi (2nd from left) is one of the figureheads of the Swiss cycling team Tudor.
Image: Keystone
Team owner Fabian Cancellara in conversation with Tudor CEO Eric Pirson.
Image: Keystone
Fabian Cancellara wore the maillot jaune for 29 days at the Tour de France.
Image: Keystone
Tudor's figurehead Julian Alaphilippe at the team presentation in Lille on Thursday.
Image: Keystone
Marc Hirschi has not yet really found his feet after changing teams.
Image: Keystone
A man for the mountains: Michael Storer.
Image: Keystone
Marc Hirschi (2nd from left) is one of the figureheads of the Swiss cycling team Tudor.
Image: Keystone
Team owner Fabian Cancellara in conversation with Tudor CEO Eric Pirson.
Image: Keystone
Fabian Cancellara wore the maillot jaune for 29 days at the Tour de France.
Image: Keystone
Tudor's figurehead Julian Alaphilippe at the team presentation in Lille on Thursday.
Image: Keystone
Marc Hirschi has not yet really found his feet after changing teams.
Image: Keystone
A man for the mountains: Michael Storer.
Image: Keystone
Tour de France - a fascination that inspires. For the first time in nine years, a Swiss team, Tudor Pro Cycling, is competing in the world's biggest annual sporting event.
04.07.2025, 19:00
04.07.2025, 19:10
SDA
No time? blue Sport summarizes for you
- The Tour de France starts on Saturday, July 5, 2025.
- For the first time in nine years, a Swiss team will be taking part in the Tour. IAM Cycling was previously part of the tour.
- Tudor will not be aiming for overall victory, but for stage wins. "We have someone who can fight for victory every day," says team member Marc Hirschi.
The Tour de France is a unique blend of top sporting performance, scenic beauty and epic drama. Over three weeks, the best professional cyclists in the world battle it out, often to the limit of what is possible or bearable. The Tour de France is not just a race. It is a rolling spectacle, a national event in France and a global sporting monument with over 100 years of history.
The maillot jaune and its radiance
The maillot jaune of the overall leader is the shining symbol of the Tour de France and its ultimate goal. It is far more than just a piece of cloth. Anyone wearing yellow is in the spotlight, admired, hunted and scrutinized. The jersey makes a rider a target, but also an icon. It has been an inseparable part of Tour history since 1919. Names such as Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain, Chris Froome and Tadej Pogacar have left their mark on it - and everyone who conquers it writes a piece of sporting history.
Fabian Cancellara has also achieved hero status. The Bernese rider wore the maillot jaune for 29 days, longer than any other Swiss rider. Only twelve riders are ahead of the double Olympic champion, who retired almost ten years ago, in this statistic - and unlike him, they have all won the overall classification at least once.
Cancellara is an intimate of cycling. Now he is returning to the big stage as owner of the Swiss Tudor team. This has been made possible by an additional wildcard that the UCI will award for all Grand Tours in 2025. The field of participants has thus been increased from 22 to 23 teams. After IAM Cycling in 2016, Tudor is the first Swiss team to take part in the Tour de France.
Cautiously towards the top
Tudor has undergone an impressive development. Cancellara joined the young talent project in 2022, which was founded in 2018 under the name Swiss Racing Academy. The Bernese rider managed to win over watch manufacturer Tudor as the main sponsor and namesake. The team was accepted into the second category of international cycling for the 2023 season and was awarded UCI ProTeam status. Last year, the team celebrated its Grand Tour debut at the Giro d'Italia.
In the meantime, the team has gained further important partners in the form of energy drink manufacturer Red Bull and, most recently, the Geneva-based cruise company MSC Cruises, which have committed to the project on a long-term basis.
The fact that Tudor has received an invitation to this year's Tour de France - as one of the few teams outside the WorldTour - is due not least to two high-caliber newcomers: two-time world champion Julian Alaphilippe and Swiss hopeful Marc Hirschi. Alaphilippe wore the yellow jersey for 14 days at the 2019 Tour, making him a popular hero in France.
Aiming for a stage win
Tudor has no ambitions for overall victory - Marc Hirschi makes that clear: "We don't have a leader for the overall standings." Nevertheless, the goals for the Tour premiere are ambitious. "We want to go for stage wins. We have someone for every day who can fight for victory," continues the Bernese rider.
In fact, Tudor is fielding a well-balanced team that is competitive on all terrains. With Julian Alaphilippe and the Australian Michael Storer, the team has two riders who have a chance of winning in the mountains. Italian Alberto Dainese is set for the sprint finishes, while his compatriot Matteo Trentin is also good for a coup as an experienced classics specialist.
And of course Marc Hirschi himself is also a trump card in the line-up - or he could be. Because there is a big question mark over his form. The three-week altitude training camp in the Sierra Nevada, which he completed together with Alaphilippe and others after not being nominated for the Giro d'Italia, has not yet had the desired effect. While Alaphilippe recently surprisingly fought for a podium place in the overall standings at the Tour de Suisse, Hirschi still lacked the necessary form for his home tour. "I didn't quite have the legs to ride at the front yet," admitted the 26-year-old.
Finding his stride again
Hirschi had actually made a promising start to the new year. After a strong finish to the 2024 season and the switch from UAE Team Emirates to Tudor, the Bernese rider won his first race in the new jersey. But an illness set him back. In March, he had to miss important training blocks. Since then, he has been running behind his best form and has not yet been able to fulfill the high expectations that Tudor has placed in him as co-leader.
To be able to keep up with the best at the Tour de France, everything has to come together - just like in 2020, when Hirschi celebrated his first professional victory at the Tour of France and was named the most combative rider of the entire Tour. He rode for Team DSM before switching to UAE Emirates. There he was overshadowed by superstar Tadej Pogacar during his two Tour appearances. There was no personal freedom.
That is now changing at Tudor. After a two-year break, Hirschi is allowed to attack again, try his hand as a breakaway rider - and perhaps provide goosebump moments once more. The carpet has been rolled out for new heroic stories.
