After a long season, our riders are enjoying a well-deserved vacation! 😁 Watch here! 🤩
"It became not a problem but too much of a good thing" - Sepp Kuss on Jumbo-Visma's dominance at the Vuelta a Espana
CyclingMonday, 30 October 2023 at 12:20
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."
Read also
claps 3visitors 2386
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- A bit much to suggest that Pogacar is better than MvdP on most terrains. The only terrain Pogacar is clearly better is long climbs, on any other terrain they are pretty even except flat cobbles and short and steep climbs (max a few 100 mtrs) where MvdP is clearly better than Pogacar.Velovibes21-12-2024
- The likelihood of RE improving enough at this point to outclass TP or JV is less than zero.verve82521-12-2024
- That’s the most stupid thing I’ve read for a long time, did you not go to school and learn even the most basic physics? Aero depends on one thing only, drag, drag depends speed and the relationship is squared and apart from maybe at zero or the speed of sound or due to side winds that relationship is valid at all speeds, it dies not “suddenly” start at a magic number. Very simply, the faster you go the more the effect becomes important. If you think 25km/h is needed to have noticeable effects you’re delusional, athletic WR are cancelled as soon as winds top 2m/s that’s 7.2km/h, why because the assistance is already too important at that speed and the times prove it. You don’t even consider wind which can significantly increase the effective speed for aerodynamics and you underestimate speed of climbs, 6% is ridden more at 30 than 25km/h, a speed at which early generation high rims were considered to have more advantages than disadvantages. And finally, as in normal races you can’t just switch bikes according to terrain, it’s pretty pointless to discuss climbs as a separate situation, the aero will have justified itself plenty during the rest of the ride.Mistermaumau21-12-2024
- If you look at how much TP progressed in that 1 1/2 years you can no longer say that’s nothing. If Remco improves as much he’s a challenger!Mistermaumau21-12-2024
- Froome wishing to ride the Vuelta...he won't even be selected for the team!frieders320-12-2024
- Keep telling yourself that Remco but you not only have Tadeg to beat but Jonas!frieders320-12-2024
- Seems farfetched - I agree. Mas has beaten him once. Giro d'Emillia I think - 2022mobk20-12-2024
- Barring injuries, by the time Pogacar's dominance fads there will be lots of new young talent. Pogacar is about 1 1/2 years older than Remco. That's nothing.Sweep20-12-2024
- I actually don’t find that too impressive. In my later forties I did similar figures for a 3.5% gradient as a total nobody with no wind assistance. Am sure there’s margin for improvement there, especially looking at all the names on that list.Mistermaumau20-12-2024
- Jonas', was 6 years agospock12320-12-2024