One day before the finale in Paris, the riders faced a brutal stage in the French Alps. The queen stage of this year's Tour de France featured no fewer than 5,450 meters of climbing. Kuss, who had already impressed with fourth place yesterday, once again showed his class on terrain that suits him best. From the start in Le Bourg-d'Oisans, Team Visma | Lease a Bike did everything possible to ensure strong representation in the breakaway, and succeeded.

Alongside Kuss, Davide Piganzoli, Matteo Jorgenson, and Bruno Armirail all made it into the front group. With the peloton more than five minutes behind, Kuss was left in a select group of five riders after the Col du Télégraphe and Col du Galibier, thanks in part to the strong work of his teammates. On the day's final climb, the Col du Sarenne, the 31-year-old launched a solo attack in pursuit of the stage win. A few kilometers from the finish, however, disaster struck. Kuss crashed twice, saw Carapaz come alongside him, and eventually crossed the line in third place.

“Unfortunately, it just wasn't meant to be today”, Kuss says afterward. “We were racing right on the limit. First, I misjudged a corner a little in the tunnel, and then I tried to extend my lead again. It probably looked pretty scary on television, but that's racing, too. Things don't always go your way.”

Following Jonas Vingegaard's withdrawal from the Tour de France, Team Visma | Lease a Bike tackled the three-stage stretch in the French Alps in hopes of securing a stage victory. “The way we have fought throughout this final week makes me incredibly proud”, Kuss continues. “We have given everything every single day. Today, my teammates supported me from start to finish. It's a shame I couldn't repay them with the victory.”

Leading Race Coach Marc Reef echoes his rider's sentiments. “It's heartbreaking to lose the victory like this. We did everything right today by getting four riders into the breakaway. Matteo and Bruno did a great job early on, and Davide was key once again. Sepp showed he was the strongest rider in the breakaway, but in the end that doesn't count for much. We were in a winning position, so it's frustrating not to come away with the victory.”

“Sepp usually is a very good descender, and I had the feeling that the gap to Carapaz stayed around fifteen seconds. A stage win would have given us a huge boost and would have been the perfect way to end this final week. Of course, I'm also grateful there were safety nets in the corner where Sepp crashed. Otherwise, it could have ended much worse”, Reef concludes.