Between Roeselare and Waregem, Dwars door Vlaanderen proved much more than a final rehearsal for the “Ronde”, this Wednesday. A long and intense fight enlivened the race in the final 100 kilometres, and Stefan Küng fully played his part. The Swiss rider first tried many times to launch counterattacks together with Valentin Madouas, then managed to break away in the final within a chasing group thanks to yet another effort. This earned him ninth place at the finish line, some forty seconds behind the winner, Neilson Powless.
After the Gent-Wevelgem’s 250 kilometres last Sunday, and before the Flanders’ 270 kilometres next Sunday, the peloton set off on a shorter, 184-kilometre course in Dwars door Vlaanderen this Wednesday. But a shorter course also means less rest. As a matter of fact, only seventy kilometres were to be covered before tackling the first of the day’s ten bergs. At that point, the breakaway had barely been formed and Lewis Askey was part of it. “We wanted to be vigilant on the early moves, and Lewis managed to seize his opportunity,” commented Frédéric Guesdon. “It was a good move, and it allowed him to cover the first ascent of the Berg Ten Houte without any problems.” However, due to a fiercely contested battle for positioning and a strong acceleration from the peloton, the British rider’s adventure ended on the Knokteberg a few kilometers later. The peloton calmed down momentarily, and a few riders were able to come back, but the pace picked up again as the second time on the Berg Ten Houte approached. Visma-Lease a Bike set a furious tempo, and everything exploded due to a powerful crosswind. “We were in an ideal position behind Visma, but Van Baarle left a gap right in front of me and they went away,” said Valentin Madouas.
“I really felt that something more was possible,” said Stefan Küng.
Just behind his French teammate, Stefan Küng was also unable to react immediately, and for good reason. “It was obvious that Visma would go there, because that was where it had to be done”, said the Swiss rider. “However, just before the Berg Ten Houte, I had a derailleur issue and my chain kept jumping. It’s a shame that this mechanical problem happened right when Visma went full gas on because it made me miss the right move. If you can’t make the most of your full power at that point, it’s just impossible to follow. I just did the best I could.” Stefan Küng and Valentin Madouas then entered a peloton of around forty men, around twenty seconds behind the Visma-Lease a Bike’s trio who caught the previous fugitives. With fifty kilometres to go, the gap was still under thirty seconds while Stefan Küng finally managed to change bikes. “Normally, after such a mechanical problem, your race is over, especially since the commissaires blocked the cars and there were some small echelons,” Stefan explained. “I already had to put in a lot of effort on the big road before tackling the Mariaborrestraat sector, and I even made an effort to close the gap on a group that had gone away.”
Following on from this, the two Groupama-FDJ riders tried to push on up the Eikenberg, but a small peloton of around thirty riders still managed to keep up while the breakaway’s lead reached forty-five seconds. Undeterred, Stefan Küng continued to accelerate on the cobbles before the Nokereberg, with about thirty kilometers to go. “I spent a lot, a lot of energy trying to follow the moves,” he said. “In the final, I felt I had done too many useless efforts and wasted too much energy during the race.” As for the former French champion, he was dropped about twenty kilometers from the finish line. “It wasn’t easy for me today,” said Valentin. “I really suffered from my allergies. I couldn’t breathe properly towards the end, and that really took me out of the race although my legs were very good.” Isolated in the final, Stefan Küng still managed to create a chasing group after yet another burst of acceleration on the cobblestones. Six men broke away behind the leading quartet, and while the gap initially narrowed a little bit, it couldn’t be completely closed down.
Stefan Küng entered Waregem fighting for fifth place, and he ultimately secured ninth in the sprint. “Honestly, I was too generous with my efforts, but I really wanted to fight at the front and not settle for a top 10,” he said. “The shape is good, but I’m a little disappointed with the way the race unfolded. I really felt something more was possible today.” “The guys did a great race and were active,” concluded Frédéric. “I hope it continues on Sunday, and that we can be a bit luckier”.
