The Classics season ended on Wednesday with quite a memorable 2020 edition of the Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne. Over the 188 kilometers on the menu, there was no time to rest, and a strong, uninterrupted wind created echelons throughout the whole day. A few days after the Tour of Flanders that he did not compete in his best form, Stefan Küng obviously got better today. He then actively took part in this lively race, which he finally finished in eighth position, a few seconds behind the winner Yves Lampaert.
“It was really a mess”, Stefan Küng
For once, it was up to the Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne, which recently got the WorldTour label, to conclude the Classics season. However, in order to aim for a big result there, it was important to be ready to go right from the start today. There was indeed no warm-up in this 2020 edition, and it quickly got clear that the massive sprint that happened in the previous two seasons would not be repeated. “We expected a fierce fight from the start,” said Frédéric Guesdon. “We know the region quite well and we also knew that the weather would not be very good, with a lot of wind and a bit of rain. There weren’t any real sprinter teams either, so we suspected that the race was going to be quite open, especially at the end of the season. We were not surprised at all with the race scenario. So we wanted to be in front from the start, be in the mix right away and try to be as many as possible in the first echelon. If by chance we weren’t there, we had to keep pushing and not get discouraged. Echelons could be created quickly indeed, but that didn’t mean it was over from there.”
The team’s leader Stefan Küng was very focused from the start and he managed to get in the right moves right away. “He was immediately in the first echelon, which was made of about ten guys,” explained Frédéric Guesdon. “Fifteen kilometers later, another group bridged across and they were then twenty-three. From there, they worked well together. Either way, there is no choice in the crosswinds. You can’t stay behind too much”. In the race lead, where there were “only good riders” claimed Frederic, Stefan Küng found himself with two main opponents: Deceuninck-Quick Step (5 riders) and Alpecin-Fenix (4 riders). Therefore, the strategy was quite clear. “The goal was to avoid being in the back of the group, and to follow Deceuncink and Alpecin who had numbers,” said Frédéric. “There were good portions to make the race explode again, and that’s what happened. The group went from twenty-three riders to fifteen, then to ten. The selection was made from behind”. From the inside, the Swiss rider recalls: “It was a mess. Given the forecast wind, we expected it. It wasn’t bad for me because it would have been a sprint finish without this weather. You had to be attentive from start to finish and not get trapped by the small roads and the wind’s change of directions”.
“This Classics campaign will be useful to us”, Frédéric Guesdon
Among the most active in the leading group, Stefan Küng managed to avoid the traps easily until the last lap. However, with fifteen kilometers to go, he had to let the group go due to a bad positioning in the back. “I did not make any mistakes until the very end but then, unfortunately, I got a bit fooled,” conceded the European time trial champion. “Mathieu Van der Poel’s crash, which happened at the same time, did not help. I lost some time because of that, but I should have been in the top five of the group. I then came back with Jempy Drucker, but the efforts that I provided cost me in the sprint”. When he managed to join the group five kilometers from the line, victory was no longer an option anyway as Yves Lampaert already took the lead. The Swiss rider therefore gave the last push in the sprint and took eighth place on the line. “We’re happy to finish on a good note, but I think he still had the means to do better given his condition,” Frédéric said. “He may have found himself in a bad position at times and he found himself chasing in the finish. He also missed a bit of luck, which is a shame, because he had the legs to do better”.
“The Classics campaign ends on a good note for me,” Stefan Küng confirmed. “I was unwell on Sunday on the Tour of Flanders, but three days later, I recovered from my stomach aches and I was competitive, just like my end of the season. It’s not a victory or a podium, but a top 10 is still good and it bodes well for next season”. The main team’s sports director on the Classics Frédéric Guesdon also gave his feelings on that matter. “We are mostly disappointed with the Tour of Flanders. Considering what Stefan had shown in Ghent and what he showed today, he had the shape to have a leading role there”, he concluded. “We can also regret that Paris-Roubaix got cancelled because it was a race that suited him. Beyond that, we still had a decent campaign, we didn’t miss it. It should also be remembered that we’re building a new group, with many young riders. This campaign will be useful to us, and we will come back in five months with big ambitions”. However, this is not the end of the season for everyone since Stefan Küng will be going to compete in the road race of his national championship at the end of the month: “It’s a goal I’m very motivated for, I feel very good and I want to finish this season in a good way”.
No comment