"Luckily he was able to continue quickly and he is fine" - Sepp Kuss survives crash scare on return to racing at Vuelta a Burgos

Sepp Kuss returned to the peloton for the first time since the Critérium du Dauphiné this Monday afternoon, on stage 1 of the 2024 Vuelta a Burgos. Sadly for the American, it wasn't quite the easy return to racing he may have hoped for as he was caught up in a nasty late crash.

“It was incredibly hot today, around 35 degrees," Team Visma | Lease a Bike sports director Marc Reef begins his reflection of the day's events in conversation with his team's official website post-stage. "Our riders were well prepared for that and they handled it well. Ben Tulett took one bonus second in the intermediate sprint and showed his sharpness. In the final we wanted to try something with Edoardo Affini. Unfortunately it didn't stop, which made it difficult for Edo to seize his moment.”

Reef also gave an update to the condition of the defending Vuelta a Espana champion, who is supposed to be stepping up the preparation for his Red Jersey defence in Burgos after being forced to miss the Tour de France earlier this summer through Covid.

"Luckily he was able to continue quickly and he is fine," says sports director Reef of the Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader Kuss, who eventually rolled home in 65th position, safely in the bunch. "All in all it was a good day. A number of our riders are coming from altitude training and a first stage like that always takes some getting used to. We are here to prepare for the bigger goals for the rest of the cycling season, but we are certainly not starting here with less ambition. We are riding for the best possible classification and that is also our mission for tomorrow's stage. The last kilometre is uphill and we have to be alert there."