"I just tried to hang on as long as possible" - Sepp Kuss hopes to build confidence towards third week after a gutsy ride on Ancares

Saturday, 31 August 2024 at 02:30

Sepp Kuss seemed to have found his best climbing legs again during the thirteenth stage of the Vuelta a Espana, as he briefly attempted to follow the wheel of Enric Mas and Primoz Roglic on the Puerto de Ancares. However it quickly became clear that the American overestimated himself and eventually was passed by some of the other GC favourites.

"I knew Primoz was going to go super hard. Because there was a bit of headwind, I thought: I'll just try to hang on as long as possible. But in the end I exploded. I had nothing to lose. For the confidence it was good to hang on as long as possible and suffer until the finish," he said afterwards on Eurosport.

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Kuss was nevertheless very impressed by the display of his ex-teammate, who dealt a massive blow to all his competitors. "The way he dropped everyone out of his wheel – against the wind – was very impressive. But yes, climbs like that suit him very well. However he is super strong. He took Mas out of his wheel and kept the same pace. That is very strong. I am surprised they did not go for the stage win."

With Wout van Aert, Visma | Lease a Bike also had a dangerous rider in the breakaway. The Belgian conquered the mountain jersey and finished fifth on the day. Van Aert therefore wasn't asked to drop back to help his American teammate on the final climb. "He was in a good position when the breakaway started. It was also good that he was able to take the intermediate sprint and he is so tactically sharp that he can even win a stage like this, if he makes a good move," Kuss explains.

Kuss remains 15th overall after thirteen days of racing, however as most of closest opponents in the general classifcation lost time to the American climber, then top-10 is now much closer for Kuss, who is currently only 2:11 short of the current p.10 Adam Yates.