The Tour de Romandie got off to an intense start on Tuesday. As usual, a short prologue kicked off the Swiss race, and after the 3,440-metre course in Saint-Imier, Stefan Küng claimed sixth place, less than four seconds behind winner Samuel Watson. The Swiss time trial champion is now eyeing other stages this week, while David Gaudu made a safe return to competition.
Quite an unusual effort was on the table for the riders this Tuesday to start the Tour de Romandie. In the streets of Saint-Imier, the 3.4-kilometer prologue was indeed a rather brutal opening day of racing. “There was a small climb, but it was mainly the technical nature that made the course special,” explained Anthony Bouillod. “Regarding the equipment, we quickly chose the time trial bike, and I think it was the right option for most of the riders. There were doubts before the recon, but once we did it, it seemed quite logical to stick with this set-up.” The first one to try it in racing mode was none other than David Gaudu, back to competition after his abandon in Tirreno-Adriatico. “David’s goal in this Tour de Romandie is to gain some confidence and prepare for the Giro,” assured Anthony. “Today was a good effort to reassure himself without taking risks, to have fun, to get back on his time trial bike and to get his bearings”. The French climber completed his prologue after four minutes and fifty-one seconds. “It’s always a special exercise,” he said at the finish. “I felt quite good on the uphill sections, but I didn’t take any risks.”
“I really wanted to win,” Stefan Küng
After him, Lorenzo Germani (4:42), Rémy Rochas (4:46), and Rémi Cavagna (4:45) set solid times, and Stefan Küng got to the starting ramp shortly before 5:00 p.m. Four minutes and thirty-seven seconds later, the Swiss time trial champion crossed the finish line, setting the fifth-best provisional time, three seconds behind the leader. “I’m bothered to have come so close, but in such an effort, you start hard, you give it your all, and you don’t think about pacing or anything else,” he said. “It’s hard to know what I missed. It’s such a specific effort, we almost never do it anymore, but I felt comfortable on this course because I know how to take good lines with the time trial bike. I really wanted to win, so I’m not happy.” The Groupama-FDJ rider ultimately took sixth place at the end of the stage, 3,71 seconds behind winner Samuel Watson. “We were expecting a very good result, even victory, and Stefan isn’t that far from it,” added Anthony. “Maybe he had the legs for it, but it was decided by small details. The good news is that he was in good shape to compete for the win.”Frustrated with the day’s result, Stefan Küng was already thinking about the next stages. “I’m disappointed, but the week has only just begun,” he said. “I’m really happy to be back on the Tour de Romandie. It’s a race I love and one that proved successful for me in the past. I’m going to take every day as an opportunity.” David Gaudu will have other expectations: “I want to fight as much as possible every day, see how the legs are, and we’ll see what happens in the end. The most important thing is to get back into the race rhythm and get used to the nervosity of the peloton again.”
