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It had been 605 days since Marc Hirschi last won at pro level or above, but he made up for lost time with a commanding victory on the first serious climbing test of the 2023 Tour de Hongrie.
It was a blistering attack from Ben Tullett that forced the winning move, the British rider sprinting up the steepest part of the final climb in Pécs with 1.5 kilometres left to race.
Hirschi was the only one able to follow, and when Tullett showed signs of weakness on the sharp gradients, the Swiss rider took over and immediately forged a gap. Tullett chased behind, with Max Poole (Team DSM) and Sylvain Moniquet (Lotto Dstiny) joining him to attempt to track down Hirschi.
However, the Fleche Wallonne and Tour de France stage winner broke a drought of quality wins as he took out the stage and moved into the yellow jersey of the race leader as he crossed the line first, eight seconds ahead of Tullett, ten ahead of Poole.
“It was super hard. We went full gas into it [final climb] for positioning,” said Hirschi. “Then Ben Tulett attacked super early. I could just follow, and then I opened it up.
“I had to go, I had something left. Everybody was on the limit and small differences in the mind can make a big difference in that situation.”
"It’s really nice to get my first win of the season and I’m really happy. The race is not over, tomorrow is a hard day, so we’ll give it a good shot.”
Earlier in the stage, Australians Cameron Scott (Bahrain Victorious) and Jarrad Drizners (Lotto Dstny) populated the breakaway, though they were swept up in the push by the major teams to position their top riders for the final climb.
The Tour de Hongrie continues with Stage 4, a hilly stage with a summit finish to Dobogoko that takes in 2,932 metres of elevation, mostly contained within the last half of the route. Watch from 2250 AEST on SBS On Demand for what promises to be the decisive stage for the general classification.
