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Germany dreamed of overall victory before the tour. But nothing comes of that. After that, Germany dreamed of a stage win, which hasn’t worked out so far either. Our neighbor to the north celebrates Marc Hirschi (22) even more. “He’s the new superstar,” says Jens Voigt (48). The former professional cyclist and today Eurosport expert is enthusiastic about the young Bernese. “Very few of them had it on the agenda. But Hirschi has already been on the podium three times, always in difficult stages. What it shows is a really big cinema. Hirschi is the big hit. “
It shows: Hirschi’s solo victory on the 12th leg of the tour in Sarran (Fr) impressed Voigt. A special feature: Voigt also won a stage of the tour in the village of 300 souls. That was 19 years ago. The North German from Grevesmühlen doesn’t want to get into that. He prefers to talk about Hirschi.
“Drive bravely, cunningly, incredibly strong.” And then Voigt makes some comparisons: “Hirschi can become the new Bernard Hinault. Or the new Laurent Jalabert. Or the new Peter Sagan. I could use any other name except Eddy Merckx, he’s one of a kind. “As a reminder: Hinault (Fr) has won the tour five times, Jalabert won 141 races and Sagan is a three-time road world champion.
Cancellara: “You are not doing him a favor”
Like Hirschi, the two-time Swiss Olympic champion Fabian Cancellara (39) comes from Ittigen, near Bern. He is your manager. But he doesn’t like the kind of comparisons Voigt makes. Marc Hirschi is Marc Hirschi. Period. “You shouldn’t make the mistake of comparing young drivers to other athletes. You’re doing him a disservice. We’re all completely different,” Cancellara says.
After all: Voigt’s praise song is well intentioned. “Hirschi has everything it takes to be a world-class racing driver. And as young as he is, he will maintain this level for ten years. He is the surprise of the tour, the biggest! “
