Sepp Kuss Finally OPENED UP About Vuelta’s AWKWARD DRAMA

Sepp Kuss Finally OPENED UP About Vuelta’s AWKWARD DRAMA

For the past three months, cycling fans have been wondering what was actually happening behind the closed doors at the Jumbo-Visma’s Vuelta a España dominance, since despite things looking quite good on the outside, there was just this feeling that something was off. And now, for the first time after storming to his first career Grand Tour win on an all Jumbo-Visma podium at the Vuelta a España, Sepp Kuss revealed what was going on behind the scenes, what they were hiding from the public eye, and how awkward things truly were.

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For the past three months, cycling fans have been  wondering what was actually happening behind the   closed doors at the Jumbo-Visma’s Vuelta a España  dominance, since despite things looking quite good   on the outside, there was just this feeling that  something was off. And now, for the first time  

After storming to his first career Grand Tour  win on an all Jumbo-Visma podium ad the Vuelta a   España, Sepp Kuss revealed what was going on  behind the scenes, what they were hiding from   the public eye, and how awkward things truly were. See, Sepp Kuss was the first American grand tour  

Winner since Chris Horner managed to  snatch a Vuelta victory back in 2013   with a 37 second lead. He finished the race  ahead of Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič,   after what seemed like a given victory as a “thank  you”, rather than a dominant one. It only happened  

After a dramatic run of stages in the mountains,  where at certain parts, it wasn’t clear whether   his trusted Jumbo-Visma teammates would turn to  the selfish side and rip off his red jersey or   not. And because of that, Kuss reflected on the  experience as a “weird dynamic” of “hoping that  

Another team brings back your teammate”. Kuss revealed all of this on Geraint   Thomas Cycling Club Podcast, where  Thomas and his co-host, Tom Fordyce,   first asked Kuss about his Giro d’Italia and Tour  de France experiences before deciding to ride the  

Vuelta a España as well. Over there, Kuss took a  healthy amount of time in an early breakaway and   was wearing the GC leader’s red jersey after  only eight stages of racing. The problem he   didn’t want to admit in the interviews before  and after the stages during the Vuelta though,  

Was that he had his two Grand Tour winning  teammates right there, behind him, literally   on his wheel in the overall standings. Therefore,  Kuss was kind of in uncharted territory and the   whole situation just begged for some trust issues. He claimed that at the beginning, he just didn’t  

Feel like it would be right to say: “I want this”,  because he realized that the only reason he was in   that position in the first place was because of  his team’s tactics, and he felt it was only fair  

The way it was. Kuss simply didn’t want to put  both the Giro and the Tour winner in their place,   since he didn’t even know whether he would have  the legs to do what it takes in the very end,   because he’s already raced both Grand  Tours before the Vuelta. That doesn’t  

Mean he wasn’t confident though. He admitted  to always having the confidence in himself. He   just didn’t want to lay down the law like that. At this year’s Vuelta, Kuss continued his red   jersey leadership throughout the second week  and into the third as well. But then, kind of  

Unexpectedly, on stage 16, Jonas Vingegaard put  in a big attack on the second-category climb to   Bejes. And while it looked like Vingegaard was  trying to get it all for himself and put Kuss out   of his red jersey, it wasn’t necessarily without  permission. Kuss admitted that Vingegaard asked  

On the radio whether he can attack, to which he  replied: “Sure, someone has to chase so it’s not   bad”. But while that might have been good for  the team while looking at the bigger picture,   it almost backfired on Kuss himself. He said:  “Then when it was a total standstill and UAE  

Had all these guys and nobody was pulling. I was  like, Oh snap. Okay, well, I want Jonas to win but   I hope somebody actually pulls behind, otherwise  what do we do? I’m not going to chase him back.”  It’s easy to understand why Kuss was riding  in an uncomfortable position here. He was  

Just kind of standing by as the reigning Tour  champion edged closer and closer to his lead,   b Alto de l’Anglirueing only seconds away from  taking the red jersey and putting it on himself.   Kuss also said it was weird hoping that another  team would bring back his teammate. He meant it  

In a good way, since he wanted him to win that  stage and there’s nothing wrong with that,   but it was still a weird position to be in. He  didn’t want to say no, but also knew that if he  

Didn’t react, he could lose what he worked so hard  for. Either way, it looked like a loss. In case   he chased Vingegaard down, it would have been an  attack on his own teammate, and if he didn’t, he’d  

Be the subject of an attack himself. He didn’t  know what to do and how to solve the situation.  Therefore, Vingegaard went on, won the stage,  and moved dangerously close to Kuss and his   lead in the overall standings. What this caused  though, is nothing but drama. Fans were sitting  

In front of their TVs, waiting for what would  happen next. Would it be the biggest betrayal   and backstab in cycling history? Or the first  American Vuelta victory in the past 10 years?  The next day though, brought nothing but more  drama. On the iconic, both Vingegaard and Roglič  

Dropped Kuss, their race-leading teammate who’s  worn the red jersey for all those stages. And that   was the moment where Kuss felt like his teammates  betrayed him. He said: “Before that moment,   I felt so good.” He thought: “I could win this  stage; this stage is the one that I wanted to  

Win this whole Vuelta and I feel super good.”  But then, with only 1 kilometer to go, they   were going faster and faster, and Kuss was on the  limit. When he realized he was getting dropped,  

He thought to himself: “Ookay, well, that’s the  end of the road for me. This is what we agreed to,   and I didn’t picture it happening like this,  but I guess this is what it’s going to be.”   Can you imagine what that felt like for  him? It must have been truly devastating. 

Luckily though, as it turned out, that was  not the end of the road for Kuss. He managed   to limit his losses enough to keep the lead,  even if that was just barely. After the chaos   that unfolded on the Angliru, Jumbo-Visma’s  riders and staff sat down for a meeting,  

Set to decide how to proceed and move on from  there. And at that point, everybody was okay   with backing Kuss as the leader. Whether that was  true or not could be argued, especially after what   Roglič’s been saying in interviews since then, but  that’s a story for a different day. As long as he  

Only thought differently and didn’t actually  do anything unexpected, we cannot blame him,   since he’s his own man with his own ambitions. Kuss isn’t mad at what happened, or better yet,   what almost happened though. Even during the  interview, he was able to discuss the drama  

While being in good mood, even laughing and  joking at various points. It’s hard not to   when in front you there’s a story with such  unusual circumstances. However, there was one   more question he got asked, that rooted out of  what some fans were saying. Did he only win the  

Vuelta because of his teammates’ decisions?  And could he have done it otherwise as well?  To that, he answered: “That discussion is also  valid, but at least when I think about that,   what about all the times that I towed them around,  or the year that I saved Primož on the Angliru? If  

Cycling is this thing where it’s like a caste  system, where you are a domestique and you are   that no matter what, then that’s one way to  look at it, but then you say in turn, whoever   has the leader’s jersey is the leader no matter  what.” And what he said there is honestly true. 

It’s kind of funny, but Sepp Kuss was  still playing the loyal teammate role,   even when he was the one with the red jersey  and in the lead at the Vuelta. He also played   the exact same role as he patiently watched  Vingegaard go up the road. So it’s hard to  

Say what would have happened and how things  would have played out for Kuss if he reacted   differently to that move. What if he attacked as  well? But he didn’t, even though he could have.  

And that’s what a good teammate does. It is clear  that out of what he said, he asserted that he was,   in fact, good enough to win the Vuelta in the end. He also added: “Whatever way you spin it you have  

To play within the realms of the team and who  is strongest too, which, I do think I was the   strongest in that situation.” No matter how  his victory was seen, the drama definitely   struck millions of cycling fans worldwide. Even  Kuss himself claimed that it was “moving” to  

Experience the support of the fans, all pulling  for him to take the victory and stand on the   top of the podium in that precious red jersey. But as the 2023 season has ended, the 2024 season  

Is going to be huge for Kuss as well. He admitted  that for him, it would be the best to do the Tour   again, since he’s already in love with the route.  But he also wants to go back to the Vuelta and  

Defend his championship there as well, since it’s  an experience he hasn’t had a chance to have yet.