Sepp Kuss: "Jonas and Pogacar were super strong. It's a great duel"

The Tour de France has erupted and every stage that features some type of climbing has seen a duel between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. Sepp Kuss is perhaps the rider who has seen it best, he is comments on what it has been like for Jumbo-Visma to tear down the 14th stage.

"The guys were great. They all did a fantastic job. Even the heavy men made me suffer on the climbs. We all had a good feeling for today and were highly motivated," Sepp Kuss told Sporza. "Those are the beautiful stages; that you have a plan and are trying. Jonas and Pogacar were super strong. It's a great duel. I'm sure it will be great for the viewers at home to follow. And for us riders it's also nice to race like this, but it's not easy."

Jumbo-Visma set out with a plan for the day, paying little attention to the breakaway, instead setting a very high pace on every single climb right from the start of the stage, never allowing a top-tier escapee group more than a minute, reeling the breakaway on the penultimate climb and non-stop pace all the way into the Col de Joux Plane. Kuss only came into action on that final climb, pacing for a few kilometers before Adam Yates took over for UAE.

"Of course you always want to make a big difference," the American says. Although he continues in a supporting role his climbing has seen him climb from 10th to 6th in the overall classification, as he continues to show great form and an unbelievably valuable role, the same as he showed at the Giro d'Italia for Primoz Roglic. "Most importantly, though, we tried. We certainly have no regrets and will keep trying until the end," he concludes, with stage 15 this afternoon being another crucial day for him and the team.