The peloton had to get ready for a tough stage towards Lagunas de Neila, an 11-kilometre long climb of the hors catégorie. Four riders went clear early in the race, but their adventure came to an end on the penultimate climb, thanks in part to the work of Team Visma | Lease a Bike.

On the final climb, Robert Gesink and Johannes Staune-Mittet dropped their leaders at the foot of the climb. Cian Uijtdebroeks was the first GC-rider who gave it a shot. The young Belgian did not mange to create a gap, but moments later he saw that Kuss was successful. The American rode away from his rivals and reached the finish line after a short solo. 

"I'm very happy with this," Kuss responded afterwards. "It was a tough day, partly because of the heat. On the final climb I was struggling quite a bit, but I wanted to try at least once. When I saw I had created a gap, I went as hard as I could. I'm glad it worked out and I want to thank my teammates for all the work they did."

For Kuss, the Vuelta a Burgos is his first race since his covid infection, which he suffered at the Criterium du Dauphiné in June. Because of that illness, he eventually had to skip the Tour de France. Kuss will use the five-day stage race to get ready for the Vuelta a España, where he will defend his title."I struggled for quite a long time with the after-effects of covid. Fortunately, I am now back on level and the confidence is back. I'm ready to defend my title in the Vuelta."

Sports director Marc Reef praised Kuss' fighting spirit. "That Sepp put in such a performance straight away in his first race gives a lot of confidence. After his crash yesterday, we had to wait and see how he would feel today. During the race, the riders were very motivated to make the best of it. Robert and Johannes did a good job for Cian and Sepp on the last two climbs and after Cian's attack, Sepp finished it off fantastically."

According to Reef, Kuss' victory achieved the first of the three goals set. "Beforehand we had said we wanted to prepare for the Vuelta, ride a good GC and fight for a stage win. The latter has been achieved and with the other two we are well on our way. I expect a very interesting battle tomorrow in the time trial."