"If it comes down to a one-on-one with Tadej Pogacar, it’s going to be difficult" but Stefan Küng heads to home World Championships dreaming of the Rainbow Jersey

Stefan Küng hasn't exactly had the best of luck at World Championships over the years. Finishes of 2nd in 2022 and 3rd in 2020 have seen the Swiss come close to a Rainbow Jersey, but in 2024, the 30-year-old has a home championships in Zürich to target and renewed optimism to take on the challenge.

“The time trial course is a really long one. There’s a flat section first, then a section with some hills and then the last part is flat again,” Küng previews of the course for his specialist discipline, the individual time trial, in quotes collected by Cycling News. “So you have to ride it in three parts – and it’s a real TT, eh.”

Although the likes of defending champion Remco Evenepoel, former European champion Joshua Tarling, multiple time world champion Filippo Ganna and the nely crowned European champion Edoardo Affini are all set to be present, Kung is hopeful he make an impact and delight his home support in Zürich. “I have to focus on myself,” Küng assesses. “I know there is going to be a high-level field. Maybe one or two guys will be missing, but that’s always going to be the case and it’s always going to be hard to win."

"I know that from 2022, when I beat all the favourites and then I got beaten by Tobias Foss, who nobody really had on the favourites list that day," the Groupama - FDJ man recalls. "I know that you always have to push to the end and give the maximum of your effort to become World Champion.”

Whilst as mentioned, Kung's most likely chance at victory comes against the clock, he is also part of the Swiss road race selection, although compatriot Marc Hirschi is perhaps the more likely candidate for the world title. “I’ve seen from the past. I’ve been third at the Worlds, I’ve been fifth last year, I know how it’s done, I know in the long races I can do well in them,” Küng continues. “First the focus is on the time trial, and then it’s one week in between where I can focus on the road race. For sure, the Vuelta was the best possible preparation for the road race, because it’s going to be hard, with a lot of altitude metres, but it’s not going to be a pure climber’s race, so it’s a perfect lead-up to it.”

“That’s a good thing about our Swiss team, we have several cards to play,” Küng concludes. “Mauro Schmid is also in good form and together with Marc, we’re going to have several options, that’s for sure. That’s how we will play it. If it comes down to a one-on-one with Tadej Pogacar, it’s going to be difficult, but we will try to be opportunistic and give it a go.”