[ad_1]
Image: Getty
Marc Hirschi won the medal he was waiting for in the World Cup road race in Imola. The Bern man showed a strong run and finished third after 258.2 km in the five-man sprint for second place. Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe secured the world title.
In a photo finishing decision, Hirschi lightly prevailed ahead of former Polish world champion Michal Kwiatkowski. The silver went to the Belgian Wout van Aert. Two years after his world title in the U23 category, Hirschi also took the podium in the elite. The 22-year-old from Ittigen ranks third in the World Cup after compatriot Stefan Küng, who also won the bronze medal in Yorkshire a year ago.
In a knockout race with 18 short but tough climbs and around 5,000 meters of altitude, Hirschi lived up to his co-favorite status, which he had earned thanks to his strong performances in the Tour de France. As one of the few hopefuls for victory, the leader of the six-person Swiss team was alone for the last two of the nine laps. But Hirschi didn’t stop and went on the offensive about 13km from the finish on the last climb of the day after a failed solo drive by Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar. With that the Swiss rang in the fight for the medals.
Alaphilippe first French since 1997
Julian Alaphilippe became world champion. Shortly before the top of the last climb, the Frenchman had drifted about 12 km from the finish line and saved his pursuers in 24 seconds. Alaphilippe is the first Frenchman since Laurent Brochard in 1997 to secure the coveted rainbow jersey as the successor to Danish Mads Pedersen.
With Hirschi’s bronze medal, the title fights ended with another top result for Swiss Cycling. After the disappointment over the Corona-related cancellation of the World Cup at home in Aigle / Martigny, the Swiss athletes have been very happy in Imola for the last four days. After Marlen Reusser’s silver and Stefan Küng’s bronze in the time trial, an award ceremony with Swiss participation took place on Sunday for the third time this week.
[ad_2]
