BinckBank Tour: Kung TT’s to Victory

For the second consecutive year, Stefan Küng (BMC) proved that he is one of the best time trialists in the world by winning the stage 2 time trial at the Binck Bank Tour and move into the leader’s jersey.

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BinckBank Tour: Kung TT’s to Victory

For the second consecutive year Stefan Küng proved that he is one of the best time trialists in the world on the stage 2 time trial at Binck Bank Tour, stopping the clock an impressive 14 seconds ahead of the next-placed rider to secure victory and move into the leader’s jersey.

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Küng came into stage 2 as one of the pre-race favorites and was able show his impressive speed and strength out on the day’s completely flat 12.7km course. The reigning Swiss national time trial champion settled into his rhythm quickly and powered around the course before clocking a time of 14’11” on the line. After a tense wait in the hot seat, Küng’s time remained unshaken and in the end, it proved to be more than enough to secure the stage win and the green leader’s jersey. Miles Scotson started his effort early in Venray and after a solid ride, he posted the eighth-fastest time of the day, crossing the line in 14’33”.
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Congratulations, Stefan! How did you feel out on the course today? “I was really on it from the first meter. I had a perfect strategy in my mind. I had a good look at the parcours and I really knew how I wanted to pace it and execute it. Instead of just riding a course, I was on it from the first meter and really attacked the course. That’s probably what made the difference. When I compare it to Glasgow where Campanaerts won, he was second today, it was such a different feeling. There I had the impression that I was on a training ride, mentally I just couldn’t get into the zone where you want to be. So, I analyzed the race in Glasgow and wanted to do better. I’m really happy it worked out like this.”

“I really felt like I was riding a good time trial and I only had a reference time back to Miles and so, I knew I was on track but I still had to really go for it right until the end as the last few time trials we have seen have all been pretty close.”

You won today’s stage by 14 seconds. Were you surprised about that when you crossed the line? “When I heard the time at the finish, I was pretty happy. I felt like I couldn’t have gone any faster and I also had the impression that I didn’t lose any seconds on any part of the parcours. I’m not surprised but it’s nice to win by such a big margin. If I remember correctly I won by four seconds last year but in the end, you just have to focus on your own performance and go as hard as possible to be as fast as possible and you can’t think about anyone else. As a time trialist, you can really feel when you are doing a good run and I felt like that from the first meter today.”

“Over such a short time trial 15 seconds is quite a lot. In the end, I gave it all I had and it really showed that I was the best one out there today and that’s always a nice feeling.”

And looking ahead to the rest of the race? “There are not so many opportunities for a rider of my type in the General Classification at stage races but this course looks pretty good for me. For sure, there will be some hard days, especially in Limburg and around Geraadsbergen but the goal is to defend this jersey as long as possible.”

“The race is far from over but I feel pretty confident. I’m in the leader’s jersey now so it is the responsibility of the other contenders to try and make time up on me. It will be hard to defend the jersey as there is a lot of good riders here. I have had experience of being in a leader’s jersey at Tour de Suisse this year and here last year so, I know what it feels like and I know what I have to do better now. We have a good team and I am motivated and feel like I am in good shape. I also feel like I have improved on my skills overall since last year not just time trialling.”
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Other Quotes

Miles Scotson: “I felt really good. I didn’t make any big mistakes around the corners. I think maybe I underestimated my ability a bit and with the pacing strategy we had, because I came home really fast. It would have been good to go out a big quicker but at the same time, it was still a solid ride so I have to be satisfied. A top ten result is a good result.”

Greg Van Avermaet: “I was pretty happy with the feelings on the bike. I’m not a time trial specialist, also the course was maybe not the best for me, but I tried to do my best as always. I’m pretty happy with my time so we’ll see how my legs go in the next days.”

Stage 2 / ITT: Venray > Venray, 12.7km

1. Stefan Küng BMC Racing Team
2. Victor Campenaerts Lotto Soudal
3. Søren Andersen Team Sunweb
4. Michael Matthews Team Sunweb
5. Maximilian Schachmann Quick-Step Floors
6. Alex Dowsett Team Katusha – Alpecin

11. Thomas Scully Team EF Education First
12. Ryan Mullen Trek – Segafredo
13. Owain Doull Team Sky
26. Greg Van Avermaet BMC Racing Team
65. Ben Swift UAE-Team Emirates
90. Christopher Lawless Team Sky
117. Scott Thwaites Team Dimension Data

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