Comparable to Tour de France victory - Marc Hirschi takes "one of the biggest victories of my career" at Clasica San Sebastian

UAE Team Emirates had the numerical superiority today in the finale of the Clásica San Sebastián. However, they have taken the victory based on raw power. Marc Hirschi is in terrific form and has taken one of the biggest wins of his career in the Basque Country today after outsprinting Julian Alaphilippe after tough climbs.

The team victory was truly built on Erlaitz, where surprisingly many of the race's pre-race favourites including Jonas Vingegaard were dropped. “We were surprised that Vingegaard didn’t feel so good on the penultimate climb. We wanted to follow him, but we did plan to attack with Jan [Christen] or Pavel [Sivakov], if he didn’t feel great.” With some of the strongest climbers dropped, it meant the pace wasn't as extreme as usual, and some of the puncheurs managed to survive relatively close to the front of the race. Hirschi, Alaphilippe and Jhonatan Narváez were amongst them.

Besides, for UAE it was a great moment since Pavel Sivakov was solo off the front and the team had several riders in the chasing group of 18. “That was super good for us. We were able to stay between the wheels. If there had been one rider less from Lotto Dstny, Pavel would have won today, I think. But they closed the gap and we were ready with three men. We went full throttle.”

In the final climb Julian Alaphilippe attacked right in the base, but then again the brutally steep section of the ascent. “It was super tough there. Alaphilippe attacked from the foot. It was so fast. Then we slowed down a bit. The last part was just a struggle until the top. When we looked back, we saw that there were only two of us left."

If the duo worked together they were certain to fight for the victory between themselves, as Lennert van Eetvelt chased on. They did so quite well, and in the end it was a sprint to decide the race. "We knew we had to keep going. Then we had a nice sprint together.” Hirschi took a strong victory over the Frenchman - a duel reminiscent of the early 2020's.

It also adds to a very strong season for the Swiss rider, who just recently won the Czech Tour. “It means a lot to me. In addition to my stage win in the Tour de France and my victory in the Flèche Wallone, it is one of the biggest victories of my career.”