Stefan Küng to undergo surgery on Monday as Swiss cycling reflects on crash

‘Küng should not have finished the race’ says Swiss Cycling boss

11:02, Sunday 24th September 2023

Tom Hallam-Gravells

Online Production Editor

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Küng crashed in the men's individual time trial at the European Championships

Stefan Küng will undergo surgery on his hand and cheekbone on Monday following his crash in the individual time trial at the European Championships last Wednesday, September 20.

In an update yesterday, Swiss Cycling confirmed that the 29-year-old was transferred to St. Gallen, Switzerland, on Friday, where he’ll undergo the surgery, with an expected layoff of between six to eight weeks.

Küng crashed inside the final two kilometres of the individual time trial last Wednesday in unusual circumstances, riding head-on into barriers along the side of the road. The crash left the rider bloodied and with a cracked helmet, but he remounted to finish the time trial.

Küng was left covered in blood and with a cracked helmet after the crash

After the race it emerged that Küng had suffered a fractured cheekbone, multiple fractures to his hand and a mild concussion, with the crash bringing a renewed focus on the UCI’s concussion protocols.

In line with the protocol, which was introduced in 2020, Küng should have received a road-side assessment, but instead he remounted to continue riding. The incident has drawn criticism with many current pros including Toms Skujiņš, Tao Geoghegan Hart and Chloe Hosking questioning the current protocol after the race.

Swiss Cycling’s head of competitive sports, Patrick Müller, has also admitted that Küng shouldn’t have continued riding, while also confirming that the crash will be “analysed and processed internally by everyone involved”.

“In retrospect it can be said that Stefan Küng should not have finished this race,” Muller said in the update.

“It all happens in a very short space of time. After the fall, the athlete reflexively gets back on the bike. It's almost impossible to stop him. In addition, you can only see the athlete from behind in the support vehicle and you cannot estimate how serious the injuries are.”

Alongside the time trial, Küng was also set to start the men’s road race today but has been replaced in the squad by Mauro Schmid, who was embroiled in a bit of controversy with his Soudal Quick-Step boss Patrick Lefevere yesterday. Reflecting on the crash, Küng was keen to praise the doctors while also backing up Müller’s calls for an internal review.

“The care from the doctors at Swiss Cycling was and is excellent, I am in very good hands. We will do a debriefing and benefit from the findings from this debriefing in the future.”

Keep up to date with the latest racing news on the GCN website, linked here.