Stefan Kung reacts to seventh place finish at the Tour of Flanders: "I was a bit too enthusiastic"

Stefan Küng finished a strong seventh in Sunday’s Tour of Flanders, a race dominated by Tadej Pogacar’s incredible late race move. The Groupama – FDJ rider took a bold approach mid-race and reflected on his decisions in a post-race interview with Eurosport.

“Before the start, the plan was to ride defensively and follow my intuition,” said the 31-year-old. “The race was special because of the crashes. The pace was high on the Eikenberg and Wolvenberg, and my teammates were lagging behind, so I thought it was a good moment to attack. I joined from the back and we formed a good group.”

Küng admitted that his aggressive racing may have come too soon, but he was determined to make something happen in the race.

“Maybe I was a bit too enthusiastic and wanted to create a gap, but unfortunately the cooperation wasn’t great, which made us lose a lot of our lead. After the Oude Kwaremont I didn’t have much time to recover, while I needed it. I went from defensive to more attacking and decided to just give it a try. Of course I didn’t want to finish seventh, but I played my cards and didn’t want to have any regrets. And I don’t.”