Küng misses the podium, Evenepoel time trial world champion

There were some indications that Remco Evenepoel would not win this Sunday. After his double victory at the Olympic Games in Paris, the Belgian had celebrated his historic triumph extensively. He enjoyed his performances on the Brussels market square and in the RSC Anderlecht stadium. He was far behind in the Tour of Britain. When he arrived in Zurich, Evenepoel’s face no longer looked as haggard as it had in July, when he had fought his way to third place overall in the Tour de France.

And that was not all. On the starting ramp at the open race track in Oerlikon, the Belgian’s chain also came off the sprocket. A helper frantically tried to adjust it, another one lugged a replacement bike in a frenzy of action, and the valuable final phase of concentration was destroyed. Evenepoel was back on his gold-plated bike just in time – where as a result neither the watt nor the cadence measurement worked.

Normally, a rider who has had such a series of mishaps does not become world champion in the individual time trial, the discipline in which every detail counts. But Evenepoel is no ordinary athlete. He managed to save a six-second lead over the Italian hourly world record holder Filippo Ganna at the finish on Sechseläutenplatz, after having had a lead of 19 seconds at the last intermediate time.

Evenepoel faltered in the final minutes of the race, and his strength waned in the last two to three kilometers. He usually relies on wattage and cadences when planning his race, as he said at the finish. But the Belgian withstood the uncertainty. Evenepoel is so superior in his specialty that he wins even when there is a lot going against him. His lead over the third-placed Italian Edoardo Affini remained comfortable at 54 seconds.

“I’ll be able to tell my children about that,” Evenepoel said later. And: His wife taught him not to get worked up about things that you can’t control. Finally, he showed his youthful lightheartedness again when, when asked how he felt between the two great Italians on the podium, he replied: “Like a focaccia.”

Küng misses the flow

The performances of the Swiss Stefan Küng and Stefan Bissegger were in many ways diametrically opposed to those of Evenepoel. In contrast to him, they did a lot of things right in preparation, worked meticulously towards the long-awaited major event at home, and were optimistic – but when it counted, they were way behind.

Küng got off to a good start in the race. He completed the first few kilometers from the open race track, on which he had competed in several competitions as a youngster, at the desired pace. On the climb to Uitikon, however, his plan to keep pushing didn’t work. He said at the finish that his legs had gone a little numb: “Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into the flow.”

The 30-year-old showed off his technical strengths on the short, fast descent to Seestrasse. Several riders complained about the route after the race. The surface was so bad that the time trial bike was difficult to control, said third-placed Affini: “I’m sure they could have found a better road.”

Küng kept his nerve in the tricky section and made up several seconds that he had lost uphill. But that didn’t help much because he fell back again on the flat final kilometers from Feldmeilen to Seefeld. Finishing 1:48 minutes behind the day’s best does not meet the high standards of the Frauenfeld rider.

The reason for this will have to be analyzed in retrospect, but Küng’s preparation actually seemed to be ideal. Because he had not been in top form for the Olympic Games after health setbacks in the summer, he decided at short notice to start in the Vuelta. In the past, it had been shown several times that Küng can use three-week tours to get even more into shape.

The professional from the FDJ team finished the Tour of Spain with a victory in the final time trial, which gave him confidence. He had lost weight almost incidentally during the Vuelta, which had a lot of elevation: the 1.93-meter-tall athlete only weighed 80 to 81 kilos, which is advantageous when going uphill. “I didn’t weigh every broccoli or count every grain of rice,” he said. But the improvement was welcome.

At the Vuelta, the Italian Affini had no chance against Küng in the time trial. Three days later, at the European Time Trial Championships, the Italian was just ahead of the Swiss, and the duo won gold and silver. But now, in Zurich, he took almost a minute off him. The direct comparison makes it clear: Küng’s form curve was pointing downwards, just at the peak of the season.

Bissegger can hope for a new team

Stefan Bissegger fared even worse, practically giving up in the final kilometers and rolling into the finish line between the lake and the opera house in 29th place. He said later that he had already started to have muscular problems after just ten kilometers. After that, he was no longer able to put any pressure on the pedals.

Bissegger, who had been suffering from a cold for the past few days, seemed tired from the start. He repeatedly left the aero position and grabbed the side grips of his handlebars. He confirmed at the finish that this was not a good sign: “If you have to get out of the saddle, it’s over.”

The 26-year-old has proven time and again in the past that he is one of the world’s best time trialists on good days. He will soon have the chance to give his career a new boost. Bissegger has signed a contract for the 2025 season with a team that is on an upward trend – and is working hard for success. The team, which has yet to announce the transfer, is already busy developing the Swiss rider’s future time trial bike.

Once things are going well, they’re going well – who knows that better than Evenepoel? It seems possible that, just a few weeks after his double victory at the Olympic Games, he will leave Zurich with two gold medals. To win the road race next Sunday, however, he would have to beat Slovenian superstar Tadej Pogacar. That could prove even harder than winning a time trial without a power meter.