A Swiss Guard
The third time was the charm for Marc Hirschi yesterday, the just-turned 22-year old Swiss confirming his remarkable abilities after a second place behind Julian Alaphilippe in Nice – Hirschi’s fast sprint catching the Frenchman by surprise – and that heart-breaking, thoroughly exciting finish in the Pyrenees when it took the strongest men in the world to beat him, even weakened as he was after that 90-kilometer solo breakaway. His was a victory by a collective, the new-look Sunweb team, with half its riders eligible for the White Youth Classification combined with grizzled veterans such as Nicolas Roche to guide them, is being noted for its cohesive spirit, one that has brought their sprinter Cee Bol 3rd and 2nd places in addition to Hirschi’s successes. It’s the Swiss, however, who is now clearly their point of focus in this Tour as he, along with us all, is still discovering who he is on a bicycle and how far he can go.
If a Swiss wants to do something good in life, the country will provide plenty of support and structure for success as shown by Marc Hirschi’s path to the top. Identified as a major talent when just in his teens, Hirschi took an apprenticeship – the wonderful ancient practice still alive and well in Helvetica – in commercial studies, taught by a military officer. Enter National Junior Coach Daniel Gisiger, whom many of you may not know, but was a superb racer in my era and key to the development of all things aerodynamic that we are seeing today. Gisiger promptly brought Hirschi into his military-supported team – and you need to understand that the military is a most important part of Swiss society, with required mandatory service for all men then two-weeks of duty every year afterwards up until a certain age. Swiss men live for that two-weeks of annual male bonding, I can assure you. Hirschi, on top of a completely supportive family, now had educational, financial and athletic support, all in an atmosphere of military focus and discipline. He’s a warrior, head to toe.
Gisiger, who held the Amateur World Hour Record covering 46.745 km, started Hirschi on the track in the great Swiss tradition. The then-boy promptly won the Coupe de Nations in 2015 followed by the World Junior Madison Championships in 2016. Four national junior championships (two road, one each time trial and Madison) and his double 2018 European and World U-23 Road Championships later, he’s now won a stage in the Tour de France and is threatening for the Polka-Dot jersey. Just how far can the 5’8”, 134-pounder go in the eight-days of brutal mountain racing to go? Will he marshal his forces then try for another stage or grind it out for the Polka-Dot? These themes and stories are what the Tour is all about.
The Sunweb’s were perfect yesterday, profiting from the Sagan-Bennett Green Jersey wars. The race exploded into action, as they always do these days, and four men got clear, chased by Sagan’s Bora-Hansgrohe team desperate to keep him position to both win the stage and gain on his points deficit to Sam Bennett. The attentive Bora’s never let the break much space, and seeing that they quartet needed help, Bennett’s teammate, the 6’4” Kasper Asgreen attacked to try and bridge the gap. His was a fascinating chase, with Mathieu Burgaudeau, almost a full foot shorter and hanging on for dear life, the Dane first tried a quick bridge, then faded and settled into a longer rhythm, stubbornly holding the break steady until they relented allowing the duo to join. That bridge was an example of what truly united teams do for one another. Asgreen put himself into pure hell with that effort, all for Bennett, all to kill off the chasing Bora’s and take away finish-line points from Sagan.
The Deceunick-Quikstep tactic worked, they sufficiently damaged the Bora’s before the final set of climbs leaving Sagan isolated, which is when the Sunweb plan went into motion.
Their duo of Søren Kragh Andersen and Tiesj Benoot attacked, setting up the springboard for Hirschi to launch on the final, 3.7-k long Suc du May climb, which he flew up at over a 24-kph average (!!) then treating us to one of his now-famous downhill runs, hitting 97-kph (60-mph) at one point, his descending skills gaining him time on the chasers as they did in the Pyrenees. They never saw him again.
Today is the stage where many feel the Tour really begins. The fatigue is settling in, the roads all point to the sky, going ever higher with each passing day. The time gaps for Yellow are still small, the Green Jersey fight is grand, and the Polka-Dot is in play. What a treasure of a race the racers of the Tour de France are gifting us in this open-air sport that is free to all.