Jose de Cauwer believes Primoz Roglic can count his blessings for Sepp Kuss despite losing time on stage 16 of the Giro d'Italia: "If Roglic had been there alone with Dunbar in his wheel, the spring would have broken more"

Stage 16 of the 2023 Giro d'Italia saw the general classification battle finally ignite the race. Although Primoz Roglic was unable to stay in contact with Joao Almeida and Geraint Thomas, it wasn't a race-ending disappointment. According to Jose de Cauwer, Roglic can thank Sepp Kuss for that.

"In the final, they consumed their riders one by one. We saw a very strong Rohan Dennis and Sepp Kuss, who was the only servant who could compete with the favourites," de Cauwer recalls in conversation with Karl Vannieuwkerke as part of Sporza's coverage of the Giro d'Italia. "But Roglic eventually had to watch out for an attack by Almeida. Going at 6 kilometres from the finish with 3 steep kilometres ahead. That was daring from Almeida, who had already let his team ride."

Once Thomas and Almeida had attacked, Kuss was tasked with keeping his team leader in contact with the leading duo, a job he did admirably, potentially saving Roglic's hopes of taking the Maglia Rosa. "They are 3 contenders for the overall victory. Almeida has risen sharply," he says. "If Roglic had been there alone with Dunbar in his wheel, the spring would have broken more."

Although Almeida took the stage it was Thomas who moved back into pink. "We saw a very good and alert Thomas, who had an acceleration in his legs. He is partly reborn," says de Cauwer who is full of praise. "37 is old to win a Grand Tour. But Thomas floats on a condition that we haven't seen from him in recent years. I sometimes had the feeling that Thomas had finished the race, but that is clearly not the case."