Hirschi avoided Flanders for 5 years and ends up right back in ditch with Benoot: "There was nowhere to go"

In the U23 category, Hirschi enjoyed racing over cobbles: he finished third in Gent-Wevelgem and sixth in Paris-Roubaix in 2016, and in the following years, he placed in the top ten in the Tour of Flanders youth race. "In 2018, I found the races very enjoyable to participate in, just like my first pro year in 2019." At that time, as the reigning world champion in the U23 category, he showed his strength in the E3 Classic by riding with the top contenders in the finale, after a day in the attack.

So why did it take until 2024 for us to see Hirschi, now racing for UAE-Team Emirates, back in the Flemish races? "They are very beautiful races, but also dangerous. Unfortunately, you can easily fall, as we have again seen. That's the shitty aspect, but they remain great races," the puncher replied.

The frequent falls were evident again on Wednesday in Dwars door Vlaanderen. Hirschi was already involved in a crash while racing in a promising position on Friday. "In the E3 Saxo Classic, I fell with Tiesj Benoot and a rider of EF Education-EasyPost. He slipped, and Tiesj and I had nowhere to go. My race was over at that point, but luckily, given the circumstances, I'm doing okay. I have some injuries, but all in all, it's okay."

Without defending champion Tadej Pogacar, with whom he raced Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo, other UAE-Team Emirates team members can chase their own success on Sunday. "We want to play it like in the past races. That means we want to get several riders in front so we can play our cards there and protect each other's attacks. With myself, Tim Wellens, Nils Politt and also Mikkel Bjerg racing, I believe we have a chance. That's the way for us to create a good situation."

After the Flemish classics, Hirschi immediately heads to the Ardennes, for the series of Brabantse Pijl through to Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Is that the main goal? "I just try to make the best of every race. Right now, that means I'm fully focused on the Tour of Flanders, but after that, I'll just focus on the Ardennes classics." There are also opportunities in the hilly races. "Without Tadej, who is only doing Liège-Bastogne-Liège, I'll probably have a bit more of a free role. With Juan Ayuso and Joao Almeida, there are other strong team members participating in the Ardennes, but I think I'll be allowed to chase my own chances a bit more."

For many riders, the spring season ends on April 21, but that is not the case for Hirschi. "I won't be doing the Giro, but still. I'm focusing on Eschborn-Frankfurt next, and then I'll continue with the Tour of Hungary, Boucles de la Mayenne, Gippingen and the Tour of Switzerland. All of these are great races to showcase myself," says Hirschi, speaking from experience. Last season, he finished fourth in Frankfurt and won the Tour of Hungary and Giro dell'Appennino.