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Source: Keystone
After his victory at Flèche Wallonne, Marc Hirschi is also one of the favorites at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Will the Bernese be strong enough for another feat in the next Ardennes classic?
Marc Hirschi records his successes with a cadence that as a Swiss cycling fan you have to get used to (again). The young man has been delighting the scene for a good month with his phenomenal achievements. After his stage victory in the Tour de France and World Cup bronze in Imola, the Sunweb pro was also able to enter the winners list in a one-day race on the World Tour for the first time in La Flèche. Wallonne on Wednesday.
The Swiss promise for the future has become a real guarantee of success in recent weeks. The intelligence and coldness that Hirschi shows when he is only 22 years old surprises again and again. For the French sports newspaper “L’Équipe”, it is already “THE discovery” of this short but even more intense cycling season.
19 years after Oscar Camenzind?
On Sunday, Hirschi has a chance to win the so-called cycling monument. Something that only three Swiss have achieved since the turn of the millennium: Oscar Camenzind, Oliver Zaugg and of course Fabian Cancellara. The Bernese who retired at the end of 2016 won the Tour of Flanders three times, Paris – Roubaix and 2008 Milan – San Remo. Zaugg came out of nowhere to win the Tour of Lombardy. And Camenzind was not only the last Swiss road world champion in 1998, but three years later he was also the last winner in Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
Now, 19 years later, Marc Hirschi, a Swiss rider, is once again one of the favorites in the “Doyenne”, as the oldest Classique is called in technical jargon. The puncher travels the 257 km through the Belgian Ardennes for the second time. However, the memories of its premiere last year are not the best. In the rain, cold and wind, he reached the finish line in 51st position almost seven minutes after the winner, Jakob Fuglsang. However, following his victory at the Tour of Lombardy in August, the Dane decided not to play the Belgian classics and instead focused on the Giro d’Italia.
Sunday also seems like a “gathering time,” which Hirschi shouldn’t do well. “In the rain and cold, I am more at a disadvantage compared to the more robust drivers,” speculates the Swiss, who weighs 61 kilograms with a height of 1.74 meters. Last year he had problems after 200 km in this cold. “Of course I am now one of the favorites to win. But it is a long and very tough race from the beginning ”, he looked forward after his victory at the Flèche Wallonne. “I’ll take it as a bonus and be a lot more relaxed.” More relaxed, yes, but certainly no less dangerous.
Did Alaphilippe rest?
Unlike Hirschi, last year’s winner Julian Alaphilippe skipped the Flèche Wallonne. After the world title last Sunday, the Frenchman took a break to recover physically and emotionally from the stresses of recent weeks and then return to the starting line in Liège rested.
In his debut in the world champion’s rainbow jersey, Alaphilippe aims for victory after finishing second, 13th, 4th and 16th in this year’s Ardennes classic. It would be the first by a Frenchman in 40 years when five-time Tour de France winner Bernard Hinault brought down the competition.
With Bob Jungels (2018), Alejandro Valverde (2017, 2015, 2008, 2006), Wout Poels (2016), Dan Martin (2013) and Philippe Gilbert, five former winners are expected to be at the start in Liege. Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic are also the overall winner and runner-up of the Tour de France.
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