And his impressive victory in the Fleche Wallonne Classic in April - with none other than Cadel Evans in second - only served to back up that impression.
Evans had broken the rest of the field by the final climb but Kirchen stuck with him before sweeping past.
That suggested that the emphasis on climbing in this year's route should be right up his street, as does his second place in last year's Tour of Switzerland.
And the Luxembourger is now the High Road team's top general classification hope too after the news that Michael Rogers has been omitted from their nine-man line-up.
Rogers is recovering from the Epstein-Barr virus and will now concentrate on the Olympics but it means the focus is very much on Kirchen.
He's targeted a top-five finish in the Tour this season and, in a relatively weak year, that looks an achievable objective.
He's got a reputation for being meticulous in terms of his bike's set-up and that attention to detail is going to serve him well over the coming weeks as he maps out the best way to get in contention.
He's also got a sound tactical brain which is going to be equally important because he's going to have to put himself in the mix in some of the key mountain stages if he's to work his way up the general classification.
Climbing is clearly his forte but he's won time trials too so it was a surprise to see him drop down to seventh overall in the Tour of Switzerland, with the time trial costing him dear.
However that's a rare blip in the last 12 months and Kirchen fully merits his billing as one of the leading contenders.
