At last! At the age of 30, Stefan Küng celebrates his long-awaited first stage win at a Grand Tour in Madrid. The time trial specialist did not originally want to take part in the Vuelta.
Stefan Küng has found his glow again. After difficult months with many health setbacks, the rider from Thurgau has achieved a kind of liberation with his superior victory in the final time trial of the 79th Tour of Spain.
Just a month ago, Küng was not in a position to realize his big goal this year, winning an Olympic medal. Instead of returning from Paris with a precious metal, he returned with two diplomas - only to then reflect on the rest of the season. How he could turn a year with many highlights and few personal successes into a successful one after all.
No question of hundredths this time
Without further ado, Küng decided to take part in the Vuelta for the first time. He chose the third and final Grand Tour of the year with its many steep mountain stages not to get himself in shape for the home World Championships, but with the clear goal of taking a stage win. Küng narrowly missed out on this in the opening time trial in Lisbon in fourth place. He was just six seconds short of taking the red leader's jersey.
Just over three weeks, 3280 km and 60,000 meters of altitude later, Küng actually managed to put his plan into action. In the final time trial over 24.6 km in Madrid, he distanced himself from the competition by 31 seconds or more. As close as he always came to winning a big race, this time the verdict was clearly in his favor.
Perseverance pays off
There is hardly anyone in the cycling scene who doesn't begrudge him this victory. "Everyone always said: 'Don't worry, it will work out one day'," says Küng, whose relief was palpable.
When he took part in his first Tour de France in 2017, Küng had already come very close to a coup once. In the opening time trial in Düsseldorf, he was only beaten by Geraint Thomas (by five seconds).
It would be wrong to label Küng the "eternal runner-up", as the most successful active Swiss professional cyclist has won too many times in his career (this was his 29th victory as a professional). Nevertheless, the luck of hundredths or seconds was often not on his side in important races, as exemplified by the Olympic time trial in Tokyo, when he missed the podium by a paltry four tenths.
Into the fall with a tailwind
His first win of the season on the international stage is also a morale booster for the Swiss time trial champion. In the past, the 2022 World Championship silver medallist has repeatedly emphasized how important it is to have a good feeling, especially in his showpiece discipline. The man from eastern Switzerland has now achieved this, and not just with his performance on Sunday.
During the last few weeks in Spain, he has also shown himself to be attacking, sometimes even sprinting to the front in the bunch sprint finishes. In the first week, he finished fourth and fifth once. "I felt good throughout the Vuelta," says Küng. "With this victory, I can repay the team and all the people who contributed to it."
After a summer without highlights, Küng may be facing a golden fall. The European Championships begin on Wednesday in the Belgian province of Limburg, and the World Championship medals will be contested in Zurich from September 22.
SDA
