Team owner Fabian Cancellara has confirmed that Marc Hirschi will continue to have a leadership role at Tudor Pro Cycling despite a disappointing 2025 season.
When Tudor held its team presentation last January in 2025 at their winter base on the Spanish Costa Blanca, Hirschi sat alongside fellow new signing Julian Alaphilippe, Cancellara and team manager Raphael Meyer.
He was one of the team's big signings last season after his run of results at UAE Team Emirates and a flag bearer for the ambitious Swiss team. However, at this year's presentation event, Hirschi was replaced by new Classics leader Stefan Küng and Australia's Michael Storer, who had a successful stage racing season in 2025.
Hirschi won his first race in the distinctive black and red Tudor colours in 2025 at the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana but then got sick. He raced in the spring but failed to make an impact in the Ardennes Classics. He was also below par during the Tour de France and the rest of the 2025 season.
"Marc Hirschi is still a team leader," Cancellara insisted when asked by Cyclingnews during a long round-table interview session.
"Maybe he disappeared in the results in terms of winning and showing himself, but he had a tough year and he was sick. He was super good at the start of the season, then got sick and then again. That was just the situation."
Cancellara also hinted that Hirschi needed some time to adapt to Tudor's way of working and to the expectations of being a team leader.
"Before, he was kind of protected; whatever he did, they had Tadej Pogačar. Here, there's another spotlight and I think it's human that, in a Swiss team and with him being Swiss, there's a bit more pressure. But he's happy, and that's what also counts," Cancellara explained.
"Starting a new season, we're confident that he will be up there again where he wants to be and where we believe he can be. We will definitely support him 100%."
Hirschi did some interviews during the Tudor media day, but true to character, he kept a low profile.
"I was hoping for more. Sometimes things were pretty good, but I was never at my absolute best. So overall, I'm not 100% satisfied with the season," Hirschi told French website Cyclism'Actu in French.
"I think they were small things, but in the end, the little things make a difference. I wasn't far from my best level, but if you're missing a few per cent, you're not at your peak."
'It's about making small adjustments'
Hirschi will kick off his 2026 season at the Challenge Mallorca races in late January, ride a series of other early-season one-day races, perhaps to help Tudor's hunt for UCI ranking points, before targeting the Ardennes Classics and the Giro d'Italia.
Hirschi is not expected to ride the Tour de France, with other riders selected to chase stage wins in July. He will target Giro stages alongside Storer's GC ambitions. He will go to altitude in late March rather than racing Milan-San Remo or any cobbled Classics.
"I'll do the altitude training camp a little later to stay fresh. Maybe one or two fewer races at the beginning, especially stage races, so I don't overdo it and have more time to train," he explained.
"Then, it's about making small adjustments: a little more work on explosiveness. With age and all the miles in my legs, you sometimes have to put a little more emphasis on the hard efforts.
"The first major goal will be the Ardennes Classics. We have a really great team with Julian Alaphilippe and everyone else, so we can aim for some good results."
The World Championships in Montreal will be a major end-of-season goal as Tudor and Swiss cycling's goals align in pursuit of a rainbow jersey.
"The course is really nice, so it will be a big goal," Hirschi said.
"The second half of the season will be dedicated to the World Championships in Montreal, which will have a similar course to other races I've already done.
"In terms of performance, I really hope that in 2026 I can take that next step and get more wins, maybe in bigger races."
