"Top riders like Pogacar, Vingegaard or Del Toro don’t have weaknesses anymore" - Stefan Küng sees era of enigmatic figures like Thibaut Pinot dying out

For Stefan Küng, the difference between winning and merely being present in the Spring Classics is no longer just about form. It is structural. The Swiss rider believes cycling’s elite has evolved into something far harder to crack, with the sport’s biggest names now almost immune to the weaknesses that once defined even its greatest champions.

Speaking in conversation with Wieler Revue, Küng offered a stark assessment of the modern peloton.

“The top riders don’t have weaknesses anymore. I’m thinking mainly of Pogacar, but just as much of Jonas Vingegaard or Isaac Del Toro.”

It is not admiration for talent alone. It is recognition of completeness.

Küng’s reference point is telling. He rode alongside Thibaut Pinot at Groupama - FDJ, a rider capable of breathtaking mountain victories and a Monument triumph at Il Lombardia in 2018. Pinot was one of the purest climbers of his generation and stood on the Tour de France podium in 2014.

But he also had identifiable vulnerabilities.

At the 2014 Tour, Pinot lost second place in the long individual time trial on Stage 20, a result that cemented a long-running perception: for all his climbing brilliance, he could be exposed against the clock. That duality, immense strength coupled with visible weakness, made him compelling and unpredictable.

Küng sees that archetype fading. “I used to ride with Thibaut Pinot. He had some enormous qualities, but he also had weaknesses,” he explained. “The modern top riders don’t have weaknesses anymore.”

The implication is clear. Where Pinot might soar in the mountains and struggle in a time trial, today’s leaders do both.

Consider Tadej Pogacar. Over recent seasons, he has won the Tour de France, conquered cobbled Monuments such as the Tour of Flanders, dominated Il Lombardia, and delivered decisive time trials in Grand Tours. He has proven competitive on steep, punchy climbs, long Alpine ascents, cobbles and against the clock.

The same pattern applies to Jonas Vingegaard. Once viewed primarily as a pure climber, Vingegaard famously demolished the field in the 2023 Tour de France time trial to Combloux, beating Pogacar by over a minute and effectively sealing overall victory. His time trialing, positioning and crosswind resilience have improved markedly since his early WorldTour seasons.

Even the youngest name Küng cites, Isaac Del Toro, has already demonstrated breadth. A Giro d’Italia stage winner and overall podium finisher in 2025, Del Toro has also claimed hilly one-day victories such as Milano-Torino and shown increasing strength against the clock. His profile spans Grand Tour durability and punchy Classics explosiveness before his 23rd birthday.

“They can time trial, they know how to position themselves in the peloton, they can ride in crosswinds,” Küng said. “Of course, they can rely on a strong team around them, but their skill set is very broad. That’s a big change compared to ten years ago.”

For Küng, that evolution has practical consequences.

The Tudor Pro Cycling leader has built a career on consistency. He has stood on the podium at Paris-Roubaix, collected European time trial titles, and repeatedly finished in the top five of the sport’s toughest one-day races. He is almost always there.

Yet in an era of near faultless superstars, being “almost” complete is rarely enough.

Even at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, where he was caught inside the final kilometre last year, Küng admits the odds are stacked. “Nine times out of ten, they will be better than me, but I focus on that one time when it happens that one of them doesn’t win. You never know what happens in the Classics. That’s what makes these races so special.”

It is both realism and defiance. “I’ve been on the podium in some races, and in almost all of them I’ve finished in the top five at some point. If you’re always there, eventually it will fall your way. A moment like that can define a career. The chance may be very small against Van der Poel and Pogacar, but you always have to keep believing.”

Whether or not the era of Pinot-style brilliance has truly disappeared is open to debate. Even today’s champions have off days, bad luck or tactical misfires. But what Küng is articulating is harder to dismiss: the margin created by a single exploitable weakness has narrowed dramatically.

Time trials no longer reliably undo climbers. Crosswinds no longer reliably expose mountain specialists. Cobbles no longer automatically eliminate Grand Tour contenders.

In that sense, Küng’s words are less about nostalgia and more about adaptation. To win in 2026 is not simply to be strong in one domain. It is to be strong everywhere.

For riders like Küng, that reality does not remove belief. It simply redefines the odds.

And in the Spring Classics, where chaos still reigns, sometimes one chance out of ten is enough.