Sepp Kuss on possibility to ride all three grand tours in 2023: "Everything depends on how I recover and how I feel"

Jumbo-Visma has included Sepp Kuss on the longlist with nine riders who have a chance of a place in the Vuelta selection. The American may therefore ride his third grand tour of this year next month, after he already completed Giro d'Italia and is now in the third week of Tour de France.

Although Kuss is on the longlist for the Vuelta, he is still keeping all options open. "We will look at that after the Tour," he told Velonews earlier this week. "There are still tough days ahead. Everything depends on how I recover and how I feel in the training sessions."

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In any case, the Giro-Tour combination suits him well. "It was a surprise that I was allowed to ride the Giro. In the end I did very well there. It also turned out to be a good preparation for the Tour. As a domestique, this combination is easy to make."

Sports director Frans Maassen also indicates that there is a possibility that Kuss will travel to Barcelona for the start of the Vuelta. "It could be a personal goal for him, but in addition he is of course very important for Primoz Roglic. After the Tour we will see how he is doing. His head must also be fresh."

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According to Maassen, Kuss gets a lot of rest during the grand tours. "In the first week of the Tour he was allowed to ride a lot at the back of the peloton. Purely to save strength in case he is needed."

In addition to Kuss, Jumbo-Visma's longlist also includes leader Primoz Roglic, Robert Gesink, Wilco Kelderman, Milan Vader, Attila Valter, Koen Bouwman, Tobias Foss and Gijs Leemreize. For the latter two, it'd be their farewell grand tour in yellow-black jerseys as both have been previously rumoured to be not extending for next year.

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PREVIEW | Tour de France 2023 stage 20 - Tadej Pogacar's chance for revival and Jonas Vingegaard's final obstacle to seal yellow jersey into Paris