TDF 2020 - Stage 9: Pau - Laruns 153 km *Spoilers*

jimmyjams said:

DeadCalm said:

RichN95. said:

andyp said:

inseine said:

I'm pretty sure Hirschi will be caught but for a rider Ive never heard of this is an incredible ride.

He was u23 world champion two years ago.

He was also second on stage 2

But, apart from that, what has he ever done before? ;}

What has he ever done before …
Well in 2008, as a 10-year old, when Cancellara was given a public reception in his home town* for having won a medal at the 2008 Olympics, Hirschi, as one of those in the crowd, managed to get Cancellara's autograph.

Not enough?
.... Hirschi won various Swiss junior level races, also in some in Luxembourg, in 2016 he got Silver in the U23 European Championships TT, then in 2017 Bronze in the U23 European Championships RR. In 2018 he won the White Jersey in the Tour of Germany, and the U23 World Championships RR (as mentioned above by Andyp).
In that RR, he did a shorter version of today – being initially in a break then dropping the other members of it.
Also, he finished third in the 2019 San Sebastian classic.

* Hirschi comes from the same small town near Berne as Cancellara, Ittigen, their houses apparently only 200 metres apart. In his youth it seems he idolised Cancellara, and Cancellara has now become his manager-cum-adviser, since about a year.
Here a photo of them training together last April.

https://img.blick.ch/incoming/15370776-v0-canci-o5i9356-jpg.jpg?imwidth=1000&ratio=16_9&x=0&y=283&width=5472&height=3080

(Some years ago, I found myself riding next to Cancellara for a short while , as close as on the above photo. It was after a Tour stage he had participated in and I had watched, he was making his way to the team bus. Dense crowds of spectators walking home or to their cars blocked the road, so he couldn't go faster than me, both on our bikes. I was so flabbergasted to see him adjacent me for about 5-6 mins, I couldn't utter a word, just made the nod one cyclist does to another.)