"It became not a problem but too much of a good thing" - Sepp Kuss on Jumbo-Visma's dominance at the Vuelta a Espana

Sepp Kuss underwent an impressive season at all levels. Having ridden three Grand Tours was a very notable achievement, performing at an incredibly high level and helping Jumbo-Visma win all three even more, but he culminated it with a career-changing win at the Vuelta a Espana. He comments on those three weeks once again.

“I think this last season just gave me a lot of confidence and I hope to take that into the next season," Kuss said in an interview with Cyclingnews. "Discovering that I could go over my mental or physical limits, and this season I could surprise myself by doing three Grand Tours, by winning the third one, and being really consistent in all three of them, when I know that I can do that, that gives me a lot of confidence.” The American, who still believes he prefers working for the team - unless he finds himself in a perfect scenario as he did in Spain - had a major confidence boost in 2023, where he finally confirmed to the world his abilities as a leader of his own.

He recalls the days where Jumbo-Visma decimated the competition in Spain, and then the fight for the red jersey was among him, Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic. “It was a big advantage in the middle of the race when we had direct rivals but then later, when we didn’t have any, then it became not a problem but too much of a good thing,” the American admits. "There were never any arguments. I think especially among us three there was always understanding. I understand everyone’s position and from the outside it’s always easier to make of it different things, but in the end, we were all racing our bikes."

Ultimately, not everyone was fully happy with Kuss' win. Primoz Roglic has later on departed the team in search of more leadership and in 2024 should head BORA- hansgrohe's bid to go for the Tour de France win against the Dutch team. Kuss will not ride the Giro d'Italia next season and will most likely ride the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana.

Kuss doesn't think a Vuelta-like scenario can be repeated, against other top competitors: There was an understanding, and everyone wants to get the most out of themselves and I think it was only magnified by the fact there was no Pogacar; Remco was out of the picture," he concludes. "There were really strong rivals in the race, but they were not our direct rivals."