Stefan Küng wins Stage 18 of the Vuelta a España
Swiss cyclist Stefan Küng of Tudor Pro Cycling won the individual time trial on Stage 18 of the Vuelta a España, which finished in Jerez de la Frontera. As Channel NewsAsia reports, Küng beat Britain’s Callum Thornley by three seconds, while Portugal’s João Almeida took third place, nine seconds behind the winner.
Küng’s second time trial victory
The 32.1 km stage followed a flat route along Spain’s southern coast, from El Puerto de Santa María to Jerez. In hot conditions, 149 riders set off at one-minute intervals. Thornley, representing Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, set the early best time of 35 minutes 25 seconds. Küng bettered that time by three seconds.
It was the Swiss rider’s second career victory in a Vuelta individual time trial. After the finish, Küng said that an individual time trial in the third week of a Grand Tour is particularly difficult. According to him, some turns seemed slippery, but he had enough strength to maintain his pace until the finish. The rider also thanked his team for the victory.
Mas retains overall lead
Overall leader Enric Mas of Movistar finished the time trial 33 seconds behind Slovenia’s Primož Roglič, who placed fourth on the stage. Mas retained first place in the general classification, holding a lead of 1 minute 37 seconds over Roglič. The Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider moved up to second in the overall standings.
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Austria’s Felix Gall dropped to third place, trailing Mas by 3 minutes 1 second. Before the stage, Mas led Gall by 2 minutes 6 seconds, while Roglič was a further four seconds behind the Austrian.
Battle for the green jersey
Belgium’s Wout van Aert of Visma-Lease a Bike leads the green jersey classification. He finished fifth on the stage, 20 seconds behind Küng, and holds a 67-point advantage over his teammate Matthew Brennan. Alessandro Romele of XDS Astana, who was in third place, lost his chances of winning this classification.
Stage 19 of the Vuelta will start in Vélez-Málaga and follow a hilly 210.8 km route to Peñas Blancas in Estepona.
