No Vuelta a España story this year has been more compelling than that of Sepp Kuss, a super-domestique launched into the lead and eventual win of a Grand Tour. For some, the beauty of cycling is in the unexpected. It’s the heart-warming tale to rival Disney or befitting a Hallmark card, one of sacrifice, circumstance and history.
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The romantics among us may gravitate towards super-domestiques, who shoulder the majority of work in their team when it comes to ensuring their leader’s victory. Their efforts aren’t reflected in the black and white of results sheets – where the name of a teammate should appear at the top if all goes to plan – but their unwavering loyalty is obvious to those watching. They’re always the last person riding in front of their leader, grinding away at the pedals to set up the big name’s shot at success.
Sepp Kuss, the 29-year-old from Durango, has played a vital role in his teammates’ victories. He helped Primož Roglič at the Giro d’Italia, most notably bridging the gap to Ineos Grenadiers’ Geraint Thomas and UAE Team Emirates’ João Almeida on Stage 16 to Monte Bondone. He was also in the Jumbo-Visma team that supported Jonas Vingegaard in a successful defence of his Tour de France title. Kuss was on the start line of the Vuelta a España, flanked by heavyweights Roglič and Vingegaard as Jumbo-Visma attempted to write history by winning all three Grand Tours this season.
On occasion, a winning opportunity can present itself for super-domestiques. And for Kuss at the Vuelta, it came when he worked his way into the 40-man breakaway on Stage 6. He then shot off the front just three kilometres from the finish line of the stage atop the Category 1 Pico del Buitre. All anyone behind could see was a team classification red number fading into the distance.
The maillot rojo of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) was over three minutes behind. Kuss riding into the red jersey looked a distinct possibility. No bother. He spent time high-fiving fans at the summit, overjoyed at his achievement, taking a stage win and bonus seconds at the line and the red jersey landed instead on the shoulders of 20-year-old Lenny Martinez from Groupama-FDJ. Kuss downed cava (waiting for his non-alcoholic/alcoholic confirmation) on the day’s podium. The people’s cyclist? Quite possibly.
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Kuss would lead the race just two days later. On Stage 8 from Dénia, five kilometres from the finish, he surged ahead of the leading group as Martinez was being dropped. As the group re-formed and Roglič beat Evenepoel for the stage, Kuss pumped his fist in celebration across the line. He wore the red jersey by 43 seconds ahead of UAE Team Emirates’ Marc Soler. It was now a question of how Jumbo-Visma would play their three cards. The road would surely decide. After all, with two weeks of racing remaining at this point, anything could happen.
Fast forward to Stage 17. The punishing slopes of the Alto de L’Angliru were primed for a dramatic showdown. Having shed Bahrain Victorious’ Mikel Landa and Wout Poels, three riders remained at the head of the race: Kuss, Roglič and Vingegaard. But Kuss began to slip back with two kilometres remaining.
With no rivals up ahead, it made sense for Roglič and Vingegaard to stay with their teammate, as Kuss has done for them many times. Jumbo-Visma tweeted that Kuss said ‘go guys!’, yet directeur sportif Grischa Niermann was quoted after the stage as saying they couldn’t hear anything. Whatever Kuss did or didn’t say, he was still the man leading overall. Roglič sat in second with Vingegaard third. Their closest rival, Juan Ayuso, was fourth overall, and at this point he was almost three minutes down on the virtual GC. The only rider they were really fighting in this situation was Kuss. On his birthday too.
The word ‘gift’ was bandied about a lot in the aftermath of this stage. Recall Wout van Aert ceding honours to Christophe Laporte at Gent-Wevelgem, rewarding a loyal domestique. But riders working together during a Grand Tour as their teammate is in the red jersey is not a gift – it’s what teams are supposed to do. Had Kuss imploded 40km from the line with no signs of recovering, then of course it would have made sense in that situation for his teammates to press on. Going from a podium-lockout to none of their riders winning the race would have been a cataclysmic scenario for Jumbo-Visma. I haven’t won a bike race, but even the likes of Sean Kelly said after the stage that it was ‘unfair’ and a ‘load of baloney’, and he’s won plenty of them.
In the end, Kuss and Landa found one another. Kuss sprinted for the final four bonus seconds and apologised to Landa for doing so afterwards. He remained in the red jersey by eight seconds over Vingegaard, Roglič 1’08” down. Jumbo-Visma’s press people attempted to quash rumours of disharmony with the team. Vingegaard said afterwards that he ‘would love’ to see Kuss winning the Vuelta as Roglič said he ‘just want[ed] to race’.
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Nevertheless, the following day, both Vingegaard and Roglič would ride alongside Kuss. The trio got through Stage 18 unscathed, Vingegaard losing nine seconds to Kuss. With one flat stage and a hilly day remaining before the processional ride towards Madrid, GC Kuss was cementing itself as a reality.
The final stage of a Grand Tour is a time for celebration and team photos before the sprinters fight it out one last time. Jumbo-Visma donned a new black team kit for the occasion, sporting pink, yellow and red stripes to represent each Grand Tour victory this year. While this is a stellar achievement, one team winning so frequently and with such commanding authority may be to the detriment of the sport if it makes results too predictable and puts viewers off.
Circling back to Sepp Kuss, he is a popular winner among fans for a plethora of reasons. His super-domestique status in the team means he doesn’t usually get the chance to go for an overall victory but he grabbed this opportunity – one coming in his third Grand Tour of the year no less – with both hands. The phrase ‘GC Kuss’ lit up social media following his win on Stage 6, where he high-fived fans before crossing the finish line. It gained traction as Kuss refused to let go of the lead, sparking the dedicated GC Kuss Twitter account and leading Jumbo-Visma to release dedicated GC Kuss merchandise.
It’s almost ironic to write about ‘rooting for the underdog’ when Kuss is part of such a strong team. Despite him wearing the red jersey from Stage 8, the sight of his two teammates leaving him behind on the Alto de L’Angliru meant the underdog label felt warranted.
Kuss’s story has cut through. He’s made headlines in non-cycling specific media, with reports from ESPN, USA Today, NBC, The Athletic and the Wall Street Journal. His calm and humble nature off the bike in interviews only enhances his appeal.
Kuss made history by becoming the first American in a decade to win a Grand Tour, helping Jumbo-Visma to their Grand Tour hat-trick. Over in the States, neither the Tour of Utah nor the Tour of California has been held since 2019 and just three UCI road races remain on the calendar. Only time will tell how much Kuss’s win bolsters the US racing scene, but for now, one thing is clear: Sepp Kuss’ Vuelta a España victory is a popular one indeed.
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