"I was hurting myself to try and keep Jan Tratnik up there" - Sepp Kuss continues bright start to the season with 6th at Clásica Jaén Paraiso Interior

After lighting up the Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia with a long-range attack, Sepp Kuss continued his positive early season showing with a 6th placed finish at the Clásica Jaén Paraiso Interior.

“It was too bad to lose Wout van Aert in the beginning with a flat tyre, but we still had Jan and I up there and it was very close,” Kuss reflected to Cycling News post-race. “I think either way it was going to be really hard to bring the break back. It was a very strong group and in such a short race, it was tough to make a difference because when the peloton’s breaking all the time, it’s hard to get organised."

With the lack of an organised chase, Movistar Team's Oier Lazkano held on for a fabulous breakaway triumph although as Kuss mentions, not by much. "We ended up getting very close, but it was a very well-deserved victory for Lazkano, too," Kuss says with a smile. "Other teams were controlling, so I tried to give everything I could and get Jan Tratnik as close as possible and catch the last of the break. But Lazkano was super strong and I was hurting myself to try and keep Tratnik up there.”

Nevertheless, a positive start to the season for Kuss on terrain you wouldn't necessarily associate with him. “To be honest I prefer to do it like this rather than be already altitude training. I like to do different races and you can only train for so long, so it’s nice,” Kuss said pre-race. “Today is a good test for the equipment for the Tour, too, we have a lot of equipment options so it’s nice to get a feel for that. And just the flow of the race, of course, here it’s 100 riders while in the Tour it’s double that number and way more stress. So for me, I'm here mainly to enjoy myself and do something a bit different.”