“It was very, very good for the image of the team and of Roglic and Vingegaard" - Jens Voigt praises Jumbo-Visma duo for their selfless support of Sepp Kuss at La Vuelta

Jumbo-Visma completed a historic Grand Tour hat trick at the Vuelta a Espana as Sepp Kuss claimed the biggest win of his career. Jens Voigt has praised the selflessness of Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard and Giro d'Italia winner Primoz Roglic in helping their teammate get his moment to shine.

“Vingegaard is the greatest champion and won the Tour de France. It is rare that the reigning Tour winner also rides the Vuelta," Voigt told Eurosport following the conclusion of the Vuelta a Espana. “So he comes there and thinks to himself, ‘There might be something else to get here too’. Roglic wins the Giro d'Italia and then has only the Vuelta on his mind throughout June and July. He completed a high-altitude training camp, looked at the routes and mountains, and ate accordingly. He invested a lot of strength, effort and time away from his family to win the Vuelta. Because that had been the plan for months."

Given the Red Jersey ambitions of both Roglic and Vingegaard the fact Kuss was the man to take victory at the Vuelta a Espana displays a good look for Jumbo-Visma Voigt believes. "You ask Roglic a big favour to throw away two or three months of his work and give it away," says the German. "Because we have seen, if he had wanted to, he could have won the Vuelta. He would have been strong enough if he had attacked earlier or more forcefully. Roglic made a big sacrifice. It was very, very good for the image of the team and of Roglic and Vingegaard."

There were moments when it looked like either Vingegaard or Roglic could be about to take the lead of the race off Kuss but in the end, they worked well in service of the American. “How would Michael Schumacher have felt if he had been told in his prime that it was someone else's turn this year?" Voigt asks. “It's hard for a champion like that to take a step back. Both had to take a big step. In the end everyone won, especially when it comes to humanity. It was a great thing for the image.”