Stefan Küng got caught up in the game, and he did well! At the end of a very quiet fifth stage on Wednesday in the Vuelta, the Swiss rider from Groupama-FDJ took on the challenge of joining the bunch sprint in the streets of Sevilla. Supported by Kevin Geniets and Lorenzo Germani in the final, the time trial specialist was able to follow the right wheels as the sprint approached, and finally net an unexpected fifth place on the line. His best career’s result in these circumstances. Some hilly stages are now looming.
The fifth stage of the Vuelta, on Wednesday, potentially was the sprinters’ last opportunity before the third week of racing. It was therefore obviously that the day wasn’t going to escape them. The breakaway was formed from the start with Txomin Juaristi (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Ibon Ruiz (Equipo Kern Pharma), but without any real hope of being successful. Their maximum lead was four minutes, and despite a very easy pace, the peloton had no trouble keeping them under control. Like the previous day, the weather conditions rather required the riders’ attention. “It went quite well regarding the heat, we are starting to get used to it,” smiled Thierry Bricaud. “These are difficult days but that is part of cycling. The boys are certainly suffering a bit from the heat, but they also know that we will have to face it until the end of the week.” “We are a little used to the heat now,” confirmed Stefan. “We use ice, we spray ourselves with water, and we drink a lot. We were well supplied by the car and by the assistants on the side of the road.”
“It was fun”, Stefan Küng
As for the race, the peloton easily caught the breakaway thirty-eight kilometres from the finish, and despite a bit of tension in the last hour, headed as a whole towards Sevilla for a bunch sprint. “The goal this morning was to have the quietest day possible,” explained Thierry. “It was a day for the sprinters, so we didn’t really have anything to hope for. There are also three days made for breakaways in the next days, so we were mainly focused on that, but in the final, Stefan wanted to go for it. He really made up his mind at the end, and he got involved in the sprint.” He also did it with some support. “This morning, I told Sven-Erik that I wanted to try something in the final,” said Stefan. “We saw that there were long straights in the end, we quickly understood that it wasn’t going to work out given the speed, but I still wanted to do something. Three kilometres from the finish, Kevin saw me and asked me if I still wanted to. I said yes, and we went for it. He positioned me well, Lorenzo gave me a hand, and then it was up to me to catch the right wheels.”
The Swiss rider fulfilled his mission to perfection, as he placed behind Wout van Aert and Kaden Groves, and was therefore able to enter the final straight alongside the best sprinters of La Vuelta. Thanks to a great final effort, he also put in a decent performance, crossing the line in fifth position. “It’s a nice fifth place,” said Thierry. “We’re a little surprised, but only half surprised, because he has shown since the start of the Vuelta that he has very good legs. A final like today with a straight line without danger could suit him”. “Honestly, it was fun,” said Stefan, not used to the sprinters’ fights. “It feels nice, and even if it’s not a victory, it keeps you active in the race.” Pavel Bittner won the stage, and a hilly sixth stage with another summit finish (9km at 4%) is on the menu on Thursday towards Yunquera.
