‘I had a bit of a difficult moment’: Küng reveals turning point in Vuelta TT victory

Stefan Küng (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) won the stage 18 individual time trial at the Vuelta a España, covering the 32.1 kilometres from El Puerto de Santa María to Jerez de la Frontera two seconds quicker than his nearest challenger.

"In the end, you have to win. It doesn't matter by how big of a margin," Küng said. "24th victory. Probably a few that I lost, also by only two seconds or even less. In the end, I'm just super happy to take the win here."

Küng broke his left proximal femur at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on 28 February, his sixth race day with a new team, and needed surgery in Switzerland. He was told the recovery could take years. He returned 16 weeks later at the Swiss national championships and won the Tour de Pologne time trial in August.

Speaking to Domestique at the Vuelta, he had described that Polish win as more significant than it looked from outside.

"I rate it really, really highly because I didn't know if I was ever going to come back to the same level," he said then, adding that long time trials remained something of an unknown. "I only started training on the TT bike in June and there are so many other things you also have to focus on, but I hope to be competitive here in the Vuelta and for sure at the Worlds."

On a flat course with 169 metres of climbing and few technical sections, he said the win was built across the whole distance rather than in one place.

"Over the span of the 32 kilometres, really, you had to be dialled in from the start. When it's such a fast time trial, you cannot have any costly mistakes. And when it's so fast, it's also hard to make a difference," he said. 

"I had a bit of a difficult moment after the second climb, and I also misjudged a few corners there. But then I was able to get back into the rhythm, and for me that's where I made the difference."

It is Tudor's second stage win of this Vuelta, after Marco Brenner took the summit finish on the Sierra de la Pandera on Saturday. The two share a room at this race.

"It was super good to see Marco winning. We are roommates on this Vuelta, so I think it's a pretty good outcome for our room," Küng said.

Küng also mentioned the importance of the work Tudor is completing behind the scenes in the TT discipline.

"There are so many people working hard behind the scenes, especially also on the time trial side. We have an innovation team that is working hard together with our partners. And for sure also all the people who got me back on track after my injury in February. I'd like to share this victory with many people."