Cycling: Hop Schwiiz! The Swiss dominated the U23 class road race in Innsbruck and were rewarded with the gold medal at the end of the day. Marc Hirschi was able to pull away with two companions from the decimated peloton around 20 kilometers from the finish line and with a courageous attack on the downhill complete the title at the World Cycling Championships. The Confederates had already taken the initiative in the person of Patrick Müller and Gino Mäder.
Little Switzerland dominates the U23 road race at the World Cycling Championships
The Swiss U23 team put on an active, dominant, and confident performance at the U23 World Championships in Innsbruck. From the outset, the Swiss took the initiative, participating in both setting the pace and joining breakaways. With around 30 kilometers to go, they were already in a promising position when Patrick Müller formed a leading duo, followed by Gino Mäder and another chasing pair. This forced the favored Belgians to do the chasing, while Swiss captain Marc Hirschi was able to adopt a more defensive approach.
This is the movement with the @MarcHirschi 🇨🇭 he has the maillot arcoiris sub-23. Chico intelligent. #InnsbruckTirol2018 pic.twitter.com/ziJ0CDAlqx
— Diego Vos ~ #InnsbruckTirol2018 🌈 (@diegovos_) September 28, 2018
Marc Hirschi makes a golden decision
When the four fugitives were caught, Belgian captain Bjorg Lambrecht launched the expected attack, but he couldn't shake off Swiss rider Marc Hirschi and Finn Jaakko Hänninen . As the trio built a comfortable lead over the rest of the depleted peloton, Marc Hirschi launched his well-planned attack on a descent. Since his two companions weren't expecting it and completely missed the move, a large gap immediately opened up that couldn't be closed. This left only the battle for second place, which the favored Belgian Bjorg Lambrecht won. Behind Finn Jaakko Hänninen, Swiss rider Gino Mäder secured fourth place. Fellow Swiss rider Patrick Müller completed an excellent Swiss result with ninth place. The best German finisher was Georg Zimmermann in 14th place.
After a great move in the descent @MarcHirschi 🇨🇭takes the U23 World title! 🌈 #InnsbruckTirol2018 pic.twitter.com/d4aY9boHDY
— UCI (@UCI_cycling) September 28, 2018
[…] Marc Hirschi to be known to all cycling fans. At that time, the now 21-year-old won the world championship gold medal in the U23 road race. The Swiss didn't need a lot of time to gain a foothold in the WorldTour. Finally […]