Kuss moves up to fifth after powerful team performance in queen stage of Vuelta a España
Sepp Kuss made a significant move up the overall standings on the penultimate day of the Vuelta a España. The 31-year-old American from Team Visma | Lease a Bike put his competitors under pressure well before the finish. Thanks to an outstanding team effort, Kuss moved from eleventh to fifth place in the general classification, one day before the final stage in Granada.
The final weekend of the Vuelta a España began with the grueling queen stage. The riders set off from La Calahorra for a 187-kilometer stage featuring five categorized climbs and around 5,000 meters of elevation gain. The finish was at the top of Collado del Alguacil.
Immediately after the start, Wout van Aert started attacking. The green jersey wearer was joined by 13 riders. Team Visma | Lease a Bike was also represented in the chasing group, with Jørgen Nordhagen, Bruno Armirail, Steven Kruijswijk, and Matthew Brennan among them.
On the double ascent of the Puerto de El Purche, Van Aert was first over the top each time. Meanwhile, the peloton was whittled down to a group of favorites. On the first ascent of the Puerto de El Purche, an attack by Kuss was neutralized by Richard Carapaz. With around 65 kilometers to go, Kuss tried it again. The former Vuelta winner went solo on the second ascent of the Puerto de El Purche. Kuss could then count on several teammates up the road. As a result, his lead over the group of favorites quickly grew to more than two minutes.
Meanwhile, Van Aert settled into his own pace. Not long afterward, Kuss caught up with his Belgian teammate. An impressive Van Aert then guided Kuss toward the final climb to Collado del Alguacil. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike duo fought their way forward and joined the Nordhagen's group. By then, the gap to the group of favorites had grown to more than five minutes. Nordhagen also did his share of the work on the steep final climb. In the end, Nordhagen and Kuss finished seventh and eighth, respectively, 4'30" behind stage winner Mikel Landa. In the overall standings, Kuss moved up to fifth place.
"This was an example of how we race as a team"
“We had a clear plan, and it was executed to perfection,” Kuss said afterward. “It felt like all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place today. Every rider on the team played a part in this performance. I’m incredibly grateful to them for that. This was an example of how we race as a team. This is our identity. I had goosebumps several times along the way. It feels amazing to be part of this team.”
“The original plan was to go for the stage win, but I missed the opportunity to make the early breakaway. After that, I had nothing to lose, so I decided to attack. I knew I still had strong teammates up the road, and that gave me a lot of confidence. I didn’t feel alone for a single moment today. We wanted to give it everything one more time, and it worked out well,” Kuss concluded.
