Sepp Kuss Impressed by Vingegaard: "He Was Sick but Turned It Around

Sepp Kuss has once again been able to show his best side at this Vuelta a España. The American super-domestique of Visma | Lease a Bike had a tough season but pulled off a one-two finish for the Dutch squad on Bola del Mundo. Moreover, the 2023 overall winner moves up to sixth place in the general classification. However, after three weeks, he is mostly impressed by his team leader Jonas Vingegaard.

"It was an amazing stage. A super tough final ride just as we had expected beforehand," the American said after the finish of the twentieth stage on Eurosport. Kuss crossed the line 11 seconds after stage winner and teammate Vingegaard, allowing the duo to secure the top two spots in the stage results.

Kuss and Vingegaard after the queen stage - photo: Cor Vos

"We knew that UAE Emirates XRG wanted to go for it. They kept the pace high all day, but Jonas was very strong on the final climb. And we still had a lot of guys from our team in the favorites group for a long time, so it’s great for the team that everyone could contribute here." Visma | Lease a Bike made an impression on the final climb as Ben Tulett, Matteo Jorgenson, Vingegaard, and Kuss stayed together as a quartet in the group of favorites.

On the steepest kilometers just below the summit, it was every rider for themselves in that favorites group. "Jonas chose a good moment to attack, after which I tried to slow down the chase. It was impressive to watch," Kuss spoke about the decisive acceleration of his Danish leader. The GC contender looked unbeatable.

'He was sick, but turned it around'
Although that often didn’t seem to be the case in previous mountain stages. Vingegaard appeared vulnerable from time to time. "He was sick, coughing a lot and struggled to breathe properly," Kuss told Cyclinguptodate. "To finish a Grand Tour, you have to be at 100%, and he found it hard every day. But in the third week, he turned it around and today you saw the result."

In 2023, Kuss himself claimed the red jersey - photo: Cor Vos

So were there no doubts at all within Visma | Lease a Bike ahead of the final stage? "Of course, there are moments in the race when you feel your legs more, but in a stage like this, it really comes down to the final climb. It was so steep at the end. So we didn’t expect anyone to come up with an out of the box plan, but you never know," Kuss said after the finish.

If everything in Madrid goes smoothly for the yellow and black team, they will be able to take the red jersey home for the fifth time in seven years on Sunday. For Kuss, that’s reason for a celebratory evening. "I need beer. Champagne doesn’t sound good!" the American super-domestique laughed after the twentieth stage.