Winner of the Vuelta a España’s stage 18 time trial, Stefan Küng has abandoned the race, reputedly to concentrate on the upcoming World Championships in Montréal.
The Tudor Pro Cycling rider put in a blistering ride to win Thursday’s 32.1km individual time trial by almost three seconds, ahead of Briton Callum Thornley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), and is clearly keen to capitalise on the fine form which also brought him victory in the Tour de Pologne closing stage TT.
With just 11 days until the Worlds TT, Küng will head to Canada to ensure he is in the best possible shape to take his first elite rainbow jersey.
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An accomplished Classics rider, Küng is primarly a specialist against the clock, and while he has multiple Swiss national titles to his name and is a double European champion, he has never won the individual time trial at Worlds, though he has been incredibly consistent.
His best result came in 2022 in Wollongong, Australia, where he finished second, he was third in 2020 and has bagged a number of other top 10 finishes over the years.
"After completing 18 tough stages and winning yesterday's time trial at the Vuelta, both Stefan and the team have agreed that it is best for him to withdraw now," his Tudo Pro Cycling team said in a statement, according to Het Nieuwsblad.
"Given the short turnaround between the end of the Vuelta and the time trial at the World Championships, and the exertion involved in international travel, this decision allows him to recover and fully prepare for the World Championships in Montréal, where he will compete in the individual time trial, the mixed relay, and the road race."
While the World Championships time trial is 7km longer than Küng's victorious stage 18 Vuelta test, at 39.2km it is similar, especially with a relatively flat profile containing 200m of elevation. And on the form Küng has shown this summer, he will certainly start the race on September 20 as one of the favourites.
This has not been an easy year for the 32-year-old Swiss rider. Joining the Tudor team at the start of the season, he crashed at Omloop Nieuwsblad, breaking his femur and spending a long period off the bike.
He returned for the Swiss national championships in June, then took the stage win in Poland in August, though he only managed to take 12th place behind Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in the Vuelta’s opening-day TT in Monaco.
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