Despite an injury and a difficult season, Marc Hirschke won the Veneto Classic ahead of Davide Formolo of UAE Team Emirates. [In the press room at Bassano del Grappa, a local reporter asked, "Marc, why do you only win Italian races?"

Hirschi took the question in the spirit in which it was intended. 'I don't know,' he said. 'It's mostly just little climbs and I really like it. It's a good race and most of the Italian races suit me."

The race was a good one.

In the 2020 season, with the pandemic behind him, every race seemed to suit Hirschi, a former world champion under 23. He won the Tour de France with relentless attacks and stage victories, the World Championships with a bronze medal, and Flèche Wallonne with a win.

Replicating that dynamic was never going to be easy, and Hirschi was fired from Team DSM just days after the start of the 2021 season, and the fact that the two sides signed a confidentiality agreement did not help. Hirschi was soon transferred to UAE team Emirates, but dental work and injuries limited his debut performance.

Hirschi's second year campaign was more encouraging, acknowledging that hip surgery and the most difficult Tour de France notwithstanding, he is still chasing the brilliant form that carried him so fast and so far two years ago.

"It's hard to compare; the role was different in 2020 and the season was shorter," he said. 'So overall I'm very happy. I hope to maintain this level in the next season and take steps to win big races."

On this day 12 months ago, Hirschi made similarly optimistic comments after finishing second behind Samuele Battistella in the first edition of the Veneto Classic. However, he soon won the Père Sempre Alfredo and had a modest but solid run in the Ardennes Classic.

After being forced to abandon the Tour de Suisse due to a diagnosis of COVID-19, Hirschi was initially deemed unnecessary for the Tour de France. The night before the race, Matteo Trentin tested positive for coronavirus, and Hirschi survived, but the past three weeks have been an ordeal. More COVID-19 infections followed, and by the third week, Tadei Pogacar was left with only three teammates, at which point Hirschi lost his nerve.

"I was in the high altitude camp for four weeks and put a lot of effort into it, but at the Tour de Suisse I got infected with COVID and was told I couldn't go out. I was really sad, but I wasn't 100%, so I understood," Hirschi said.

"Then Trentin got COVID and they took me. There weren't many riders, so I kept hoping that things would pick up the next day, but they didn't.

I needed a reset. Hirschi was away from racing for more than six weeks and finished the season with 10 one-day races in France and Italy; in September he won a five-man sprint at the Giro della Toscana in Pontedera, and last week he helped Pogacar win at Il Lombardia.

In the Veneto Classic, Hirschi followed teammates Formolo and Nicola Conti (Alpecin Deceuninck) up the short, gravelly final climb to the diesel farm. As the sun gently set over Brenta, he entered the cobbled Bassano del Grappa with a 10-second lead over Formolo.

"After the Tour, I took a month to rest and then I was able to build up my strength again. I was able to come into the race physically and mentally fresh for the end of the season."

This week, Hirschi will travel to the United Arab Emirates to participate in the team's first gathering before the 2023 season. Modern cycling is unstoppable, but Hirschi, who has finally regained a bit of momentum, is already looking ahead. We're looking forward to a good winter now," he said. 'And I hope to come back next season at the same level I'm at now.'