For over 100 kilometres this Sunday, Stefan Küng played a leading role in the greatest of the Flemish classics: the Ronde van Vlaanderen. On the attack very early in the second Monument of the season, the Swiss rider held the front of the race for nearly an hour and a half before the main favorites came back in the final. The Groupama-FDJ’s rider then fought through the final bergs to cap off his superb race with an excellent top-10 finish: seventh. A good omen before the Hell of the North next Sunday.
Sixteen bergs, five cobbled sectors, sunshine, and a vibrant atmosphere. Everything was in place this Sunday for the great celebration of Belgian cycling on the 109th edition Tour of Flanders. From Bruges to Oudenaarde, 270 kilometers were on the day’s menu, with the first half of the course almost devoid of difficulties. The fight for the breakaway brought a little excitement for an hour of racing, then the peloton took a steady tempo behind the seven fugitives. As expected, it was only as the first passage over the Oude Kwaremont approached that tension increased, while several crashes had already marred the riders’ advance. The first anticipation moves came a few moments later, but after the Molenberg, around 110 kilometres from the finish line, Stefan Küng himself emerged from the pack. “It wasn’t the plan that he would attack from so far back,” said Frédéric Guesdon. “Other riders were supposed to go for it at that point, but he found himself well positioned and took his chance. I think he had the legs to be in front even if he waited, but it’s always better to be one step ahead.” “This morning, the plan was actually to stay defensive, but you also have to follow your instincts,” Stefan added. “It was a special situation due to the crashes and the fast pace, and I thought it might be the right time to attack. I came from behind with a lot of speed and went for it.”
“His ride deserved a top-10 finish,” Frédéric Guesdon
The Swiss rider was first followed by Davide Ballerini, Vito Braet, and Tiesj Benoot, then joined by Filippo Ganna, Matteo Trentin, Daan Hoole, and Quinten Hermans. Together, they caught the break with 90 kilometres to go and built a one-minute gap over the peloton. “It was a good group,” Stefan confirmed. “Maybe I was too excited, but I really wanted to create a good gap. Unfortunately, it became a bit tactical before the second time up the Oude Kwaremont. The cohesion wasn’t ideal, and that’s why we lost some of our advantage.” The Swiss then decided to give it a good push and reduced the leading group to seven while the big favorites started to battle some thirty seconds behind. On the Paterberg and then on the infamous slopes of the Koppenberg, Stefan Küng kept on pushing at the front and ultimately only took two riders with him: Benoot and Ballerini. “My goal was to still have an advantage before the Taaienberg and that’s why I started to push on the Koppenberg,” he said. “Unfortunately, the others didn’t want to pull with me, and I paid for that effort when the big guns came back.”
With forty kilometers to go, Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout Van Aert, Matteo Jorgenson, Jasper Stuyven and Mads Perdersen caught the leading trio, and Stefan Küng was unable to respond to the Slovenian’s attack on the Taaienberg a few minutes later. “I was really struggling at that point, and I couldn’t follow Van Aert on the old Kruisberg either,” Stefan said. “I needed a bit of time to recover, but that’s something you can’t afford in this race.” Five riders finally broke away before the final Oude Kwaremont-Paterberg sequence, which the Groupama-FDJ rider tackled with a Visma-Lease a Bike’s duo. Over a minute behind Pogacar, who went solo, after the final climbs, Stefan Küng continued to join forces with Jorgenson and Benoot on the way to Oudenaarde. “We had to keep pulling to at least be rewarded with a good result,” said Frédéric. “There was a big group coming up fast behind. His ride deserved a top-10 finish, and it’s good that he was able to secure it.” After a final sprint, Stefan Küng ultimately finished the day in seventh place, nearly two minutes behind Pogacar, and thirty seconds ahead of the peloton, which included Valentin Madouas (17th).
“To beat the odds, you have to dare,” Stefan Küng
A protagonist of the race for over 100 kilometres, the Swiss man secured his third top-10 finish in the Ronde and his sixth in a Monument race. “I left it all out there, so I can’t have any regrets,” he said. “I can be happy with my performance. It was certainly possible to do better than seventh, but sometimes you need the right circumstances and a bit of luck. If I had raced more defensively, I could perhaps have finished fourth or fifth, but there comes a time when you have to risk everything because I am, above all, a competitor. To beat the odds, you have to dare. That’s what I did today. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”“We’re not going to complain with a top 10 in a Monument,” Frédéric concluded. “I don’t think we can have any regrets. Stefan practically rode the perfect race. He did everything to be in shape here, and so it’s completely normal that he’s in this position today. It bodes well for next Sunday. His entire start to the season has been postponed so that he’s really ready for Roubaix.” A race where the Swiss rider has been in the top-5 the last three years. “For now, it’s time for recovery,” smiled Stefan. “The Tour of Flanders is already a hard race by nature, so it’s even more so when you go up the front with 110 kilometres to go…” A reminder of a monumental day, in every respect.
