8 August, 2017, Voorburg (NED)
Stefan Küng proved why he is becoming known as one of the best time trialists in the world on Binck Bank Tour stage 2, setting the only time under 11 minutes to secure his first individual time trial victory at a UCI WorldTour race and move into the leader’s jersey.
Küng was one of the first riders to roll off the ramp, and despite the wet conditions, he settled into his rhythm quickly and with the parcours being completely flat, the Swiss national time trial champion was able to power around the 9km course before clocking a time of 10’58” on the line.
It was a long and nervous wait in the hot seat over the next two and a half hours but as the final riders set off, Küng’s time remained unshaken and eventually it proved to be enough to secure the stage win and move into the leader’s jersey.
Miles Scotson also started his effort early, and after a solid ride, he posted the eighth-fastest time of the day, crossing the line in 11’13”.
The Winner’s Interview with Stefan Küng
Congratulations, Stefan! What was it like out on the course today?
“It was a tricky time trial. It’s a city parcours, so there were lots of corners, lots of signs and painting on the road and with the rain, it made it a big challenge. I think I was able to push all the way through, but with all the roundabouts it was hard to know exactly when to push. On a time trial like this, you are always on the line of how much risk you want to take because you want to go as fast as possible, but you don’t want to go down, and I think I managed to do that well today.”
You had a long wait in the hot seat. Were you nervous at all as you watched the other riders out on the course?
“It was more of a cold seat because it wasn’t too warm today. I was waiting around two and half hours, and now I’ve finally won, so I am really happy. I couldn’t watch the race all the time because you are nervous already at that point so, I actually took the time and read.”
“A lot of good guys went off at the beginning, even before me, but I was watching Tony Martin (Team Katusha – Alpecin) anxiously. Unfortunately, he crashed, and I wish him all the best. Also at the end, I watched Peter Sagan (Bora – hansgrohe) as on a parcours like this, which was pretty technical, he can do amazing stuff on his bike. You are always nervous right up to the end because you never know and you don’t win the race until the last person has crossed the line so now I am really relieved.”
When you saw some of the riders that you had beaten, did you think that you had the winning time today?
“It was a really difficult parcours. Even when I went out, the roads were wet, and it was raining slightly, and there was a lot of tricky corners, and we saw that a few guys crashed. You had to be focused, and there were about 20 turns. You had to remember which turn to take in which way and without an intermediate check point it was all out until the end. When I saw I had the best time, I knew I had beaten good riders like Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb), Maciej Bodnar (Bora – hansgrohe) and Jos Van Emden (Team Lotto-NLJumbo) but you never know. You just have to hope that you still have the best time at the end.”
And looking ahead to the rest of the race?
“The goal is to take this jersey all the way to finish. It is going to be hard as there are some difficult stages, a lot of difficult stages actually with the race heading to the Ardennes and then the finish in Geraardsbergen. But I am coming out of the Tour de France, and I am in good shape so, we will fight until the end.”
Quotes From the Finish Line
Sports Director, Valerio Piva:
“We took the decision yesterday to finish behind because we knew that at the beginning of the time trial there was maybe going to be less rain. It was wet for everybody and the time trial specialists and the favorites for today started together at the beginning. Stefan Küng was very strong, and he was able to keep the lead until the end. I am really happy both for him and for the team. We made the right choice yesterday.”
“Stefan is now in the leader’s jersey, and we will work hard to try and defend his overall lead. We are still at the beginning of the race, and the difficult stages will come in the next few days. Tomorrow is usually a stage for the sprinters, but with the weather and the risk of wind, it will be important to have the team together, but now we have the leader’s jersey so everybody is motivated to do the job for Stefan. Plus we also have Greg Van Avermaet, who lost a little time after being blocked by another car today, and he is still in a good place as we look ahead to the rest of the week.”
Race Profile
Binck Bank Tour
Stage 2/ITT: Voorburg > Voorburg, 9km
Top 3: 1. Stefan Küng (BMC Racing Team) 2. Maciej Bodnar (Bora – hansgrohe) 3. Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb)
BMC Racing Team Top 3: 1. Stefan Küng 8. Miles Scotson 25. Nathan Van Hooydonck
