“I want to win another stage” - Sepp Kuss hungry for Vuelta a España glory as Visma strike first stage win of Grand Tour

Cycling
Monday, 24 August 2026 at 10:30
Captura de pantalla 2026-08-23 a las 19.02.54
Sepp Kuss was one of the key riders for Visma - Lease a Bike in Matthew Brennan’s stage 2 victory at La Vuelta a España 2026. The American spoke to Eurosport’s Laura Meseguer after the finish in Manosque and broke down the strategy that allowed the Dutch team to prevail in a finale where they held several cards.
The plan was clearly defined. Visma wanted to exploit the rise in the final kilometres to launch Wout van Aert while keeping Brennan as a sprint option.
“The idea was to attack with Wout with two kilometres to go on that rise,” Kuss explained to Eurosport, highlighting the team’s versatility to approach the finale with different options.

Kuss leaves the door open to targeting the overall

The strategy worked to perfection. Van Aert kicked, Tadej Pogačar followed, and the move forced the bunch to react before Brennan emerged to contest the sprint. “We had the idea of winning with Wout or with Matthew as well,” Kuss acknowledged, also praising Christophe Laporte’s work to drop the young Brit into a prime position.
“With Christophe leading him out he can always get to a good position, and he’s got a brutal sprint,” the American added. Brennan duly capitalised to take his first win in a Grand Tour, a success Kuss views as especially important for easing pressure within the team. “A win early in the race always takes a bit of pressure off,” he noted.
Brennan’s triumph was not the only talking point for Kuss. The American approaches this Vuelta with a different role than in past editions and, while aware he could be one of Visma’s best climbers, he has yet to decide whether to focus on the general classification or hunt stage wins.

Kuss' one clear objective before race

Kuss, winner of La Vuelta in 2023, recalled that before the race he had one clear priority: to rediscover the feeling that comes with winning in a Grand Tour. “For me it would be more important to try to win a stage than to go for a top 10 or top 5,” he explained.
The American believes a victory at La Vuelta carries special weight and does not want to give up that chance by committing too early to a conservative strategy. However, he does not rule out fighting for the overall either.
“We’ll see how I feel in the first week, whether I go for the GC or look for opportunities in the breakaways,” Kuss concluded, keeping all options open before the first major mountain days arrive.
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