"A conflict is smoldering between Vingegaard and Roglic and Kuss is kind of outside of that" - Thijs Zonneveld's view on the Vuelta a Espana enigma
Cycling
A conflict brewing inside Jumbo-Visma. An argument that has been claimed by many over the past few days regarding the Vuelta a Espana, the unseen battle between three riders of the same team for a Grand Tour win is leading to a very unexpected and new type of race situation.
"A conflict is smoldering between Vingegaard and Roglic and Kuss is kind of outside of that," Thijs Zonneveld argued in the Het Wiel podcast. "Now that they have three leaders, it is not the classic situation. If it had only been Vingegaard or Roglic with Kuss, they could have managed it much better at Jumbo-Visma. They now both think that if they don't win, Kuss should win. But not the other. You can really see it in the stages.
Both Vingegaard and Roglic have attacked the race in the two mountain stages this week has had to offer, both taking time away from Kuss. This was a strategy quite different to that of stage 14 where they had the opportunity to attack, but all remained conservative. The spectrum of opinions is wide, ranging from Kuss deserving to win the Vuelta, to 'the strongest rider wins', but the situation is never as clear as that - with good reason, as this kind of race scenario is unheard of in Grand Tours.
"If Kuss has been dropped, Roglic can accept that. But when Vingegaard attacks, Roglic thinks 'he's not higher in the pecking order than me' and goes after him," Zonneveld believes, leading to a chaotic situation where the motivations of Roglic and Vingegaard are not clear. "It then actually becomes an ego thing. Roglic then attacks on the Angliru himself and then Vingegaard in turn decides not to stay with Kuss either."
In the interviews and post-race footage all seem friendly among the Jumbo-Visma group, who is about to make history in more than one sense. However the internal competition, even if not completely clear at points, seems evident by now, with Jonas Vingegaard only 8 seconds behind Sepp Kuss and Primoz Roglic just over a minute, with another colossal mountain stage to be tackled today. And Zonneveld believes that there are different motivations from Vingegaard and Kuss, but that a possible clash between themselves may ultimately dethrone Kuss from the red jersey.
"Suppose Vingegaard wins the Vuelta and Roglic was not allowed to attack for days, because he had to protect Kuss' position. Or vice versa. And at the last moment one of the two gentlemen passes Kuss. Then the other star naturally wonders what that means," he explains. "It's a complicated problem because it's so late in the Vuelta. It is not only the strongest, but also the smartest or dirtiest who wins. Maybe Kuss should attack, so that neither Roglic nor Vingegaard can chase it."
Read also
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Where Merckx just rode every single race he could and won all the time, Hinault won less often (percentage wise) because he was more judicious in what he raced. His palmares are nuts. He had amazing rivals, one to start his career and another to end it in the grand tours. His classics were solid. What sets him apart from Merckx and Pogačar are that he basically dabbled in the classics while the other two love(d) them. I used to compare Pogačar to Hinault for his grand tour record and occasional classics win, until I realized that the comparison was wrong. Pogačar loves the classics - ah, the memory of his reaction to finishing fourth in a 2 person sprint in Flanders in ‘22: utter domination in any one day race since then, even when he doesn’t win. Hinault lived for the grand tours and I don’t think anyone else will ever reach his record. 10 wins in 13 attempts? Good lord. An amazing rider. Wish there was more footage to watch.RidesHills11-11-2026
- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
Loading
🇪🇸 #LaVuelta23 Another big mountain stage coming up. 😎🤯
2 Comments