"Mentally, it was actually easier" - Sepp Kuss explains why he enjoys racing all three Grand Tours in a year
Cycling
Sepp Kuss is one of the most unique riders in the peloton, taking into consideration his ability to race several Grand Tours in a row, displaying his best level consistently. The American, in a long behind-the-scenes video published by Team Visma | Lease a Bike, has showed a day in his life at his home in Andorra, and has explained why such a heavy racing schedule is actually his preferecen.
Kuss was shown together with his family, now during the off-season in Andorra, where the weather often gets cold, but not enough to prevent the American from taking up serious training when that becomes required. He has just finished a season with 74 race days - although he didn't race all he planned for; as he abandoned the Tour of Oman early in the year.
Kuss raced the Muscat Classic and Tour of Oman in February; joined Jonas Vingegaard at the Volta a Catalunya in March; and then raced Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España. Between the Giro and Tour, he was third at the Andorra MoraBanc Clàssica, which was held by his home in the Pyrenees.
"For me mentally, it was actually easier than a normal season," Kuss said in the 23-minute long video. "You just have really concrete blocks, concrete goals, and then in between that it's pretty simple routine, easy living."
The reason is ultimately that he is able to spend more time at home with his family, having a set out schedule right from the start of the year that features in its grand majority the large stage-races.
Kuss lives at high altitude, meaning that inbetween major goals, he is able to do quality training into the Grand Tours, where high altitude is a must for the climbers. However, as he entered the Giro and Tour without any GC ambitions, he is not required to undergo the ultra-specific preparation that his teammate Jonas Vingegaard for example does.
The balance between racing and life at home is key for Kuss. "I've been able to be at home a lot in between all the Grand Tours and that makes a big difference".
That is the reason why the American has, like in 2023, raced all three Grand Tours in one year. Three years ago, he supported Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard to victories at the Giro and Tour, before he himself went on to win the Vuelta a España - the biggest victory of his career, with his two teammates joining him on the podium.
Since 2019, Kuss has ridden at least two Grand Tours each year, with the exception of 2024. He raced three Grand Tours on two occasions; and has once again thrived this year. He backed up Jonas Vingegaard to victory at the Giro d'Italia, before winning a stage himself on the 19th day, a stage in the high mountains which was also his only breakaway chance at winning.
Consistency is the key to improvement
"One of the biggest strengths of Sepp, and that's also why he could do three Grand Tours a year, is that he found a really nice balance," Robert Gesink, a former teammate and resident in Andorra, said of the American.
"He does everything right. He weighs his food and he does his training correct, but also he has the right balance and doesn't overdo it."
At the Tour de France Kuss showed this, returning to his very best level once again as he backed up Vingegaard in the Pyrenees, and then came very close to winning the queen stage on the final mountainous day - only a crash descending Alpe d'Huez prevented him from doing so.
Read also
But at the Vuelta a España, Kuss actually aimed for the overall classification, and raced by Andorra on stage 4. Whilst his form appeared to fade throughout the race, a raid on the queen stage - again the final mountainous day of the race - saw him climb from 11th to fifth on the overall, showing once again how he thrives in the final week of Grand Tours.
"If you can keep that balance and find a way that it works for you, that you can sustain the level and then you can keep on growing," Gesink said, perhaps perfectly capturing Kuss' career at Team Visma | Lease a Bike.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Mathieu and Wout!!! You must start in CX this winter! (hope you reading comments here...) ;-)averagecyclist12-11-2026
- Who made you site boss?Lozza12-11-2026
- This shows so well you’ve never ventured out to a cycling event and checked out spectators.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- I preferred the one about amateur riders and passing (perhaps to explain why he can’t ride at 220 which would probably be more effective to return to shape).Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Not just ManU, far worse in some minority sports ventures.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- From your writing it sounds like you’ve been sharing your views with people here for quite a while, quite presumouptuous for a new profile.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Which is amazing given his weight and size, though, unlike in boxing and some rare instances we haven’t a clue what his fighting weight was. Anybody know why these “public” figures floated around are considered as being accurate?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- That’s a first point, everyone can have an off year or just stagnate before a new upward cycle. What would have been more interesting is including Skjelmose’s performance into the discussion, things have also been expected from him after several performances in the past but he hasn’t really progressed either, his TdF was basically what you would have expected but he’s 26 and been kind of stuck at this level for at least 2-3 years. Maybe he’s a late developer or maybe he needs something to change but as manager I’d be just as demanding and worried about both. Perhaps the recruitment concept was to have enough talent so at least one every year would be in shape and they’ve just been unlucky. Don’t want to rub it in but you could even say Mads lost a notch, so is it the riders or is it more to do with the team?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Bingo...I was also going to say that young pretty women are obsessed Pogi fan girls... who are chasing him. All glossy "____" (blank) about Tadej. PS: You can all fill in the "blank" yourselves, whatever you prefer. The definition of glossy is: It looks unusually shiny, glazed over, watery, or vacant/unfocused.PogiSloFans12-11-2026
- Are you able to discuss ANYTHING without making a reference back to your Special 1? It’s almost as if you’re paid by his marketing team to improve his ranking in search results.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment