Kuss eager to start season at UAE Tour
Team Jumbo-Visma will participate in the UAE Tour with Sepp Kuss, among others. From Monday to Sunday, the second stage race of this season's WorldTour will take place in the Middle East. Kuss will make his season debut in the United Arab Emirates after training in Colombia.
This year's UAE Tour is the fifth edition of the annual stage race. It was held for the first time in 2019. That year, Primoz Roglic won a stage and the overall classification. Team Jumbo-Visma also triumphed in the team time trial, a discipline that will be part of the race again this year.
Kuss prepared himself in Colombia. "I spent the last few weeks there improving my skills. I worked on my shape. Every day was a new and cool adventure. Every corner, every peak and every valley showed me how beautiful the landscape is. Riding around and discovering the world is exactly why I started cycling”, says a visibly moved Kuss.
"But now I'm more than ready to start my racing season”, the 28-year-old American continued. "This is my second time on the UAE Tour. It's a beautiful race with a very varied course.”
Kuss hits the nail on the head. The race's seven stages will see riders tackle sprints, climbs and time trials. The race starts on Monday with a sprinters' stage. Tuesday sees the team time trial, and Wednesday the ascent to Jebel Jais, the 20-kilometre climb where Jonas Vingegaard came out on top two years ago. Stages four, five and six seem to favour the sprinters before another climb to the summit of Jebel Hafeet on the final day.
"We are starting with a solid and balanced team”, Kuss says of Team Jumbo-Visma's seven-rider selection. "With Olav Kooij, we want to have a chance to win in the sprint stages. I'm looking forward to riding with Olav. He is a very talented rider; there is no doubt about that. He has achieved excellent results in recent years and has started strong again this year.”
"It motivates me even more to race with these talented riders"
Kuss is also adamant about the mountain stages. "I'm looking forward to them. Not least because I'm curious to see what it's like to ride with Thomas Gloag. I'm happy that the young guys are showing themselves. It motivates me even more to race with these talented riders. We will do our utmost to achieve excellent results in the United Arab Emirates. I can hardly wait to pin on a number again.”
Timo Roosen, Lennard Hofstede, Tosh Van der Sande and Michel Hessmann join Kuss, Kooij and Gloag on behalf of Team Jumbo-Visma.
