“That day can come” - Stefan Kung believes the day he can beat Pogacar and van der Poel may come

Stefan Küng will wear the black and red of Tudor Pro Cycling for the first time this week at the Challenge Mallorca. Convinced that a change of team can help him make the final step, the Swiss opens this new chapter aiming to go toe to toe with Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel to fight for victory in the cobbled Monuments.

The Swiss will test his condition on Mallorcan roads before leading his new team in the team time trial at the Trofeo Ses Salines. At 32, and after eleven WorldTour seasons, Küng embarks on a new adventure having raced only for BMC and Groupama - FDJ, signing a three-year deal with Tudor with a clear target: finally win a Monument.

“At the end of the 2024 season I knew it would be my last year with Groupama - FDJ. It wasn’t a decision against the team, but the need for a change, to find a new challenge,” Küng explained during Tudor’s recent camp in Spain to Cyclingnews. The Swiss underlined the value of leaving his comfort zone after many years in the same environment: “Sometimes, something new can make you better. You need a setting that pushes you. I wanted people around me to ask hard questions and to try something different.”

Although joining Tudor may look logical given his nationality, Küng made clear that wasn’t decisive. “Being a Swiss team wasn’t on my list of pros and cons. There are nine Swiss riders, but it’s a very international squad and, above all, very ambitious. It’s young, with positive momentum and everyone looking up.”

A specialist against the clock, Küng has a key role in Tudor’s technical development, working closely with sponsors such as BMC and Sportful to optimise time trial equipment. His wind-tunnel experience will also be crucial for teammates like Michael Storer, focused on the Giro d’Italia GC, and for the team in targets such as the Tour de France’s opening team time trial in Barcelona.

“The goal is the process,” Küng summed up. “If we make the Top 5 in the Tour’s time trial, it would be a big success. Then you can aim for the Top 3 and keep growing. If you turn a race into a project, the outcome is never a failure: it’s the process that makes you learn and move forward.”

Küng is the leader Tudor lacked for the 2025 Classics. He will share responsibility with riders such as Matteo Trentin, new signing Luca Mozzato, Marco Haller, and Marius Mayrhofer; allowing Julian Alaphilippe and Marc Hirschi to focus on the Ardennes.

Though Tudor is a ProTeam, it has automatic invitations to all WorldTour events in 2026 and plans to race all three Grand Tours and the major Classics. Küng will return to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad at the end of February and, after an altitude camp, tackle a demanding cobbled block in April.

His recent record backs that ambition: six Top 10s in cobbled Monuments over the past four years, including third at Paris–Roubaix 2022 and two further Top 5s on the pavé of northern France.

Despite the dominance of riders like Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel, Küng’s belief in his chances remains intact. “Maybe results-wise it wasn’t my best Classics campaign in 2025, but at Omloop I was closer than ever and they caught me under the flamme rouge,” he recalled.

“The odds are against me: nine times out of ten Tadej and Mathieu will be better, but I believe that day, that one time, can come. In the Classics you never know how the race will unfold. That’s what makes them so special. You just need one opportunity and it can change your career.”

The presence of Pogacar and Van der Poel has reshaped the Classics, just as aerodynamics, performance, and nutrition have transformed cycling. Küng believes that evolution suits him: “If you look at average speeds compared to ten years ago, we’re two or three kilometers per hour faster. It’s the result of equipment, rider level, altitude training, and nutrition.”

The Swiss reflects on how habits have changed: “When I turned pro, carbohydrates were the enemy. Today it’s the opposite: you eat as many as you can.” That advance has made the Classics harder, with racing kicking off more than 150 kilometres from the line. “It makes them more intense, but it also suits me when the race is hard from far out and it all comes down to endurance.”

While Pogacar and Van der Poel can strike decisive blows on iconic ramps such as the Oude Kwaremont or Carrefour de l’Arbre, Küng trusts his ability to absorb damage beforehand. “Maybe I tire a little less than others. I’m better when the race is hard from afar. After the seventh or eighth big acceleration I can still go. Cycling’s evolution has worked in my favour,” he concluded.