Marc Hirschi is due to make his long-awaited debut for the United Arab Emirates at the Volta a Catalunya on Monday. The race runs from March 22-28 and has a stellar field that includes Chris Froome (Israel’s start-up nation), Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers).
The 22-year-old has not run since his surprising transfer from the DSM Team earlier this year. He was supposed to participate in the United Arab Emirates Tour in February, but he spent almost three months of the year away.
His last race was in Liège-Bastogne-Liège last year, where he was second behind Jumbo-Visma’s Primož Roglič, but overall 2020 was a great breakout season for the Swiss driver. He won a stage at the Tour de France on his debut and then took third place in the world street racing championship in Italy and a victory at La Flèche Wallonne.
Hirschi was part of the Team DSM presentation at the beginning of the year, but his contract was terminated by the team. They declined to specify the exact reasons for the sudden decision, only stating that they had ended the relationship a year before the pilot’s contract ended. There were murmurs that the team was dissatisfied with the aspects surrounding the athlete, but this was never confirmed and Hirschi did not say why he left.
“The DSM team reached an agreement with its pilot Marc Hirschi to terminate his current job before the original termination date of December 31, 2021. It was agreed that the agreement will be terminated with immediate effect and that no further comments will be made,” read the DSM statement.
Speculation has escalated about where Hirschi would end up, but the UAE announced his signing just four days later, with the pilot joining a team that already included Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar, Alexander Kristoff and Davide Formolo.
The Volta a Catalunya will be Hirschi’s first race for the team and he should also run Pais Vasco and then a complete schedule of Classics of the Ardennes.
“I think it is a very exciting team that we are bringing,” said team manager Matxin Fernandez in relation to the Catalonia team.
“After Pogačar’s great success at Tirreno-Adriatico last week, the team is more motivated than ever to go out and have a good race in Catalonia. We have a lot of quality in the squad with a mix of young talents and more experienced guys.
“With the number of drivers that we have here, we will aim for the GC, but we will also fight for victories in all possible stages. This will be the first time that we will see Marc Hirschi running in the colors of the United Arab Emirates. We hope that he will achieve great things with us. With his class and talent he certainly strengthens the team. “
Emirates of the United Arab Emirates for the Tour of Catalunya: Camilo Ardila, David De La Cruz, Joe Dombrowski, Rui Costa, Marc Hirschi, Brandon McNulty and Sebastian Molano.