Giro victory, crash on Alpe d’Huez and Vuelta fireworks - Visma climber stuns with another triple Grand Tour year
Cycling
In the Grand Tour era dominated by Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic, Sepp Kuss is one of the few men who have managed to sneak away with his own triumph. Since Kuss' 2023 Vuelta a Espana victory, three years have passed. During that time, the American confirmed what we already knew; that he feels way more comfortable in the role of super-domestique and/or a stage hunter. However Grand Tours remained his specialty also in 2026.
Sepp Kuss' entire professional career so far has been linked to Team Visma | Lease a Bike. The American climber has joined the Dutch formation in 2018 after stand out performances at a continental level, and immediately played a part in Steven Kruijswijk's 4th place at Vuelta later that season.
Over the first eight seasons at Visma, Kuss accumulated 15 Grand Tour participations, most frequently (8x) coming to the Spanish three-week race which, as Andorran resident, is closest to his heart. Especially popular has become the Tour-Vuelta combination he's contested every year since 2020 except when covid prevented his 2024 participation.
And in the famed 2023 season, Kuss rode all three Grand Tours in the same calendar year for the first time. And either by helping a teammate or doing so himself he had managed to win all three. In 2026, Kuss tried to recreate that fateful campaign.
Read on to recall how did it go this time around.
Jonas Vingegaard and his Visma teammates showered in confetti at the 2026 Giro d'Italia
'Walk in a park' Giro
Kuss started his season rather unimpressively with 33rd place at Muscat Classic in Oman before he was forced to abandon the subsequent stage race. One month later, the American returned at the Volta a Catalunya where he linked up with Jonas Vingegaard, his intended leader for the Giro d'Italia.
And just like one and a half month later in Italy, the Dane found no rival on his path to overall victory. In fact, Vingegaard was so dominant that Kuss did not even need to dig too deep for his leader. Especially since the youngster Davide Piganzoli stepped up and was able to cover most of the work on his own.
Kuss carried on slightly away from the attention of media and fans alike. But he did not lose his racing instinct - rather, Kuss opted to wait for his perfect opportunity to strike which arrived on stage 19.
The 151-kilometer stage from Feltre to Alleghe was dubbed queen stage by many prior to the race, but ultimately went to a strong breakaway which formed in the second half of the stage. Naturally, Sepp Kuss was a part of it.
The American saved his matches throughout the day, kept his poker face when Giulio Ciccone attacked from far out, and ultimately defeated both Lidl-Trek riders Ciccone and Derek Gee-West on the final ascent of the day to claim a stage victory. His first at the Giro d'Italia.
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A French rollercoaster
Between Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, Kuss enjoyed a bit of a change of pace with a participation at Andorra MoraBanc Classic which runs quite literally through his backyard. The American finished on podium just behind Tom Pidcock and Carlos Verona, confirming a good level two weeks ahead of Grande Boucle.
Visma's plan of action in France was the same as at the Giro - to fight for victory with Jonas Vingegaard - with just one twist; the presence of Tadej Pogacar. And the Slovenian left no room for doubt that he was a cut above the rest. Vingegaard put up a great fight in the support of Kuss, but could only defend his second spot until a crash on fateful stage 15 put an end to those efforts.
Suddenly, Kuss found a chance to compete for his own result.
As the peloton arrived to the final battlefield that was the legendary Alpe d'Huez on stages 19 and 20, Kuss unleashed his climbing legs and threw himself into the breakaway mayhem.
On first attempt, breakaway companions Richard Carapaz and Lenny Martinez were both stronger than Kuss, thus the fourth place was not too bitter for the American.
However the very next day, Kuss woke up with much better legs and even managed to drop Carapaz on Col de Sarenne. With fifteen kilometers left of still somewhat undulating parcours the race was not over yet, but Kuss was in a prime position to win it; until a moment of lowered focus saw the American crash in descent... and then again few hundreds of meters later.
Kuss was shook. Perhaps even more by the sudden realization that a stage victory had slipped through his fingers than the crashes themselves. He finished 3rd that day. But fortunately, Kuss escaped any serious injuries thanks to well-placed safety nets.
And just like at the Giro, Kuss finished 13th overall. A result which won't define the career of a man who has already been crowned a Grand Tour winner, but it's not a result you can claim without certain quality and great deal of consistence.
Sepp Kuss and Jorgen Nordhagen cross the line on Stage 20 of the 2026 Vuelta a Espana
Miserable Vuelta brought to an unexpected conclusion
After the two Grand Tours, Kuss was originally supposed to take a rest, maybe compete in a few races late into the season. But the American once again rediscovered his joy of competing for three weeks in a row. And just as the ink dried on the latest chapter of history of Grande Boucle, Kuss declares that Vuelta participation is already on his mind.
This time, there is not Jonas Vingegaard. Kuss has only responsibility towards himself as Visma gears towards sprints and breakaways with strong trio Matthew Brennan, Wout Van Aert and Christophe Laporte. The young Jorgen Nordhagen arrives to learn the GC trade at Grand Tours, and Kuss fits perfectly as his mentor.
But it's not his race. Kuss does well - finishes 5th - during the first big mountain test in Andorra, but ever since then he's not quite in the mix and thus finds himself in a rather desperate 11th position ahead of the final mountain stage.
And yet, there's no pressure. After all, Visma had already won seven (!) stages during this year's edition and a solid GC result would be merely a cherry on top.
Stage 20 is a long mountain stage and a massive breakaway featuring well over 50 riders goes up the road. The stage turns into an absolute chaos and the group of favourites soon loses all its domestiques. That is when Kuss - relatively far in the GC - makes his move.
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With the help of several teammates up the road (Bruno Armirail and Wout Van Aert), Kuss is able to build a large enough advantage over peloton to virtually enter the top-5 overall. And Kuss still has one final ace up the road: the young Nordhagen, who has been taking notes from Kuss these past three weeks, is there to give Kuss the final push towards the finish line. Kuss concludes his third Grand Tour of 2026 in fifth position.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- I see (elsewhere) that Alaphilippe had more to say than what got relayed in this stub. Me: he was very good early but his latter third trajectory was the pits. His old boss did what he could (huffed and puffed) but Julian couldn't get his greatness back. Sometimes I wonder if crashes that didn't look like much changed the course of the rider.flyer14-11-2026
- I wouldn't classify it as a gift because the nasty consequences of taking it from Sepp would have been great and would persist and he knew it.flyer14-11-2026
- Ok. Tratnik's good and Red Bull's better so Tratnik may get what he wants.flyer14-11-2026
- Ok. So just saying he wasn't enjoying racing anymore is some kind of explanation? Me saying I don't enjoy his explanation is more explaining than he did.flyer14-11-2026
- Buitrago, was he their best rider in 2026? He's the chief loss for them and Martinez and Tiberi (especially) have to step up or they will be overtaken by Bahrain's younger riders like Omrzel. I'm still somewhat high on Martinez but Tiberi, after showing signs of promise, has fizzled. Bahrain still has a good team but they need to improve and exceed expectations. I'd be happy if Mohoric could manage to return to his better form for maybe one last year at least.flyer14-11-2026
- Hmmm, "... I just gained 30 seconds purely off the bike. Because it's really a big, big improvement compared to the previous bike". Is that marketing for Specialized or serious valid hype, or something in between? Very likely the former.flyer14-11-2026
- Nothing revelatory or controversial. Why do we have to report on Bruyneel's or Armstrong's thinking. It's a shame and enough that the Move's on TV and that people watch it .flyer14-11-2026
- Makes sense that training from home is a big asset or advantage but it's still remarkable that he can put in three quality majors and not pay some heavy price for the exertion. I wish he would have won that tour stage that his crash while leading allowed Carapaz the win. He's a darn good rider and teammate.flyer14-11-2026
- Sounds like we all agree with the over under exaggeration: "The German’s signing does not guarantee that Evenepoel will win the Tour in 2027. "flyer14-11-2026
- Seixas appears to be that good but if he isn't (an absolute rival to Pogacar) he would have plenty of company in rising stars that did not go on to fully meet the expectations of many. That Pogacar wasn't the greatest (as great) sooner can't be transposed onto another's development. It may be not that simple.flyer14-11-2026
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