Marc Hirschi: This win means a lot

Marc Hirschi has came out in the final years as one of the most promising classics riders in the peloton. After several issues have seen him struggle with consistency last season, he's started 2022 the same way. Today however, upon his return to competition, the UAE Team Emirates rider took the team's 20th win of the season at Per Sempre Alfredo.

“I’m really delighted with this win, it means a lot. I’ve worked so hard together with my team over the past months to come back and it makes me really happy to do it like this," Hirschi said in a post-race interview. The Swiss had been out of competition due to a hip surgery that delayed his start of the season, however he returned in style as he attacked the final ascent of the Italian race and went on to take a solo win in Sesto Fiorentino.

"I have to thank my team for their confidence and for all the work they’ve done in getting me to this point. Watching the team achieving everything they have this season was huge motivation while I was on the sidelines and it feels great to be back with them in the peloton again," he concluded.

As Mathieu van der Poel and Chris Froome, Hirschi is also set to start the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali this week to gather form ahead of the rest of the spring. Hirschi will be targeting the Ardennes classics alongside Tadej Pogacar and Alessandro Covi, and with a month left to the main goals of the spring he still has time to prime his top form.