Marc Hirschi's transfer from Team DSM to UAE Team Emirates was made on short notice during the Christmas vacations, team manager Mauro Gianetti revealed.

Hirschi's departure from Team DSM (formerly Team Sunweb) was announced on January 5, when it was announced that a "settlement had been reached" to terminate Hirschi's contract immediately. [Hirschi signed with UAE Team Emirates on January 9 and joined his new teammates at a training camp in the UAE.

Hirschi has yet to explain why he left Team DSM. Janetti is happy to have the Swiss rider on the team, along with Tour de France winners Tadej Pogachar, Alexander Kristoff, and Davide Formolo, and newcomers Rafal Mayka and Matteo Trentin.

The talented young riders include Brandon McNulty, Andres Adila, Mikel Bjarg, Alessandro Covi, and Ivo and Rui Oliveira.

"For contractual reasons the deal was announced on January 9, but an agreement was reached before New Year's Eve through his agent, Fabian Cancellara. Marc Hirsch is a big name and we knew we couldn't let him go," Gianetti told Radio Télévision Suisse. He is a Swiss rider, talented and a real pro. And the fact that he joined us after terminating his prior contract means that he saw us as the ideal team for his development."

"He is a very good rider and a very good rider, and we are very happy to have him on our team.

"His transfer is one of the biggest transfers in this market. Chris Froome has moved to Startup Nation in Israel, but Marc is only 22 years old and his addition will have a much bigger impact."

After winning the U23 road race title at the UCI World Championships in Innsbruck, Hirschi turned pro in 2019, following an eye-catching neo-pro campaign and success at the Tour de France in 2020, La Flèche Wallonne and podium finishes in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the elite road race world championships, catapulting him to the top of the sport. Had Julien Alaphilippe not interfered with his sprint, he might have won the Tour de France and other stages of Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

He teamed up with Pogachar and Formolo in the Ardennes Classics and supported Pogachar's defense of the yellow jersey in the Tour de France while trying to win a stage.

"He's amazing for a 22-year-old. He won a stage at the Tour de France and is just two wins away. He won in Flèche Wallonne and fought to the end in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

"He has the ability to make winning look easy. We have seen it at the junior level and under 23 when he won the world title. We want him to surprise us with what he can do. I think he can be competitive on any terrain. He's going to work hard and he's going to want to improve even more, so it'll be interesting to see what we can do together."

"He can be backed up by Tadei Pogachar in the Ardennes Classic. We have McNulty, Bjarg, and others. They are all young and talented."

UAE Team Emirates invests heavily in young riders and has signed many young riders with stable long-term funding.

"During 2020 we achieved the results we had planned for 2022.

"Now we have to keep growing, which is why we started with the basics of the team and focused on young riders. We want to build our own success by developing our players, not buying ready-made products."

"Young riders are highly motivated and ambitious. They are very motivated because they are building their own future. It is more interesting to have young riders on the team and improve together. No pressure.

Hirschi and his new teammates will stay in the UAE until January 22, receiving the first COVID-19 vaccine upon arrival, per an agreement with UAE authorities. They will receive a second dose on January 21 to complete their vaccination.

After many sponsored events and training on the flat roads of Abu Dhabi, the athletes will move inland to train in the hills, including the Jebel Hafeet, an important climb in the UAE Tour.

They will return to Europe for their season debuts in Spain and France. Pogachar will lead the team on a tour of the UAE in February.