Sepp Kuss has benefited from a breakaway on stage 6 and moved into the lead. He holds a few minutes over Remco Evenepoel who leads the charge for the expected contenders for victory, but right behind him stand both
Primoz Roglic and
Jonas Vingegaard. Hence, despite his climbing quality, Valter has so far had a minor role in the Dutch team, but the work has been so far successful.
"Though it wasn't on my winter program, I had the Vuelta in my mind. But the team hadn't confirmed it yet. I had to prove myself this season, and I probably did," he believes. "I also have a good connection with Jonas. We have great collective goals for the future, so I'm eager to see how it turns out... When you're part of a team with Jonas as the leader, you really feel like you share the victories. Then it's better to win with him than to finish eleventh yourself."
Hence Valter hopes to perform and help Jumbo-Visma to win it's third Grand Tour of the season. This is a possible task, as despite having a busy schedule, all of it's leaders are so far performing at a very high level, and up to this point carry significant tactical leverage over the race.
Valter talks of his two leaders in more specific detail, pointing out some difference: "They are both great leaders and they get along very well. Primoz is more of a Vuelta-style leader; he has no stress. Jonas is similar, but he is more in control and more focused on watts and numbers. Those are their personalities, but it's nice to work for both of them. They are always grateful, without egos."