Sunday's cycling monument Liège-Bastogne-Liège is tailor-made for puncher Marc Hirschi. Spring, on the other hand, does not suit the Bernese rider.
25.04.2025, 05:00
25.04.2025, 07:39
SDA
Marc Hirschi's premonition did not deceive him. "I'm not in the best shape ever. I suffered at the Tour of the Basque Country. I hope I have benefited from this week and can now make progress. I'm not giving up," the 26-year-old told Keystone-SDA a week ago in the run-up to the Ardennes Classics.
Last Sunday at the Amstel Gold Race, Hirschi had to abandon 40 km before the finish and on Wednesday at the Flèche Wallonne, the former winner did not make an appearance either. Mauro Schmid in both races and Jan Christen on his return on Wednesday as Tadej Pogacar's noble helper made the stronger impression from a Swiss perspective.
Autumn rather than spring
Hirschi does not deny that he often struggles to find sixth gear in the spring. "Yes, I've generally found that it's a bit more difficult for me at this time of year," he confirmed. This was also the case in the 2024 Olympic year, when he came second in the Gold Race - probably a runaway to the top. Hirschi only gradually got into top form and finally reached the top of the world at his home World Championships in Zurich. There he fought for the medals in the chasing group behind soloist Tadej Pogacar.
And in 2020, when Hirschi won the Flèche Wallone and finished second at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, he was also a late bloomer. In the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, the Ardennes races were postponed to the fall. At the time, Hirschi arrived as stage winner of the Tour de France and third in the Imola World Championships.
New freedoms at Tudor
"As a type of rider, I'm still the same as I was in my super year," says Hirschi. After the strongest phase of his career to date, he switched to Pogacar's UAE team for 2021. Since this year, he has been largely freed from the support duties he had to perform in this team. Hirschi pedals for the Swiss Tudor team and is now co-leading the race with Julian Alaphilippe. "It's a great honor for me to have the team to myself. But I'm also happy to be co-leader. It means we can go into the race with an open mind," Hirschi clarifies.
The switch to Team Tudor, which is not (yet) a World Tour team, has not resulted in any disadvantages during preparation: "On the contrary. I have returned to my former coach Sebastian Deckert. And in terms of training and infrastructure, there are no significant differences."
Not holding a grudge
Looking ahead to Liège-Bastogne-Liège, a scene from 2020 seems to be causing a stir within Team Tudor. Back then, Hirschi probably only missed out on victory from the five-man lead group because he was hindered by an unauthorized swing from Alaphilippe in the finale. Hirschi denies any ill-feeling: "Julian came up to me at the finish and immediately apologized. We spoke about it again later, but it's no longer an issue." Cooperation on a personal level is therefore also on the cards for Sunday.
