18 stages and almost all of the mountains down, Sepp Kuss leads the race by 17 seconds from his Jumbo-Visma teammate, Jonas Vingegaard. Surely now, the well-liked American will take a first career Grand Tour success.
After the heavy criticism of Jumbo-Visma's tactics over the past few days, both Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic were noticeably reigned in on stage 18, working in the service of Kuss. Late attacks from Juan Ayuso and Enric Mas were responded to well by Kuss who actually extended the gap to Vingegaard. Despite changes in the time gaps down the line, there was actually no changes in positions within the top 10.
Vuelta a Espana General Classification following stage 18
1. Sepp Kuss
2. Jonas Vingegaard at 17".
3. Primoz Roglic at 1'08".
4. Juan Ayuso at 4'00".
5. Mikel Landa at 4'19".
6. Enric Mas at 4'30".
7. Cian Uijtdebroeks at 7'37".
8. Aleksandr Vlasov at 8'35".
9. Joao Almeida at 10'20".
10. Santiago Buitrago at 12'20".