Sepp Kuss set for Tour-Vuelta double in 2025? "He always rode the Vuelta with the Tour in his legs and he likes that"

This time last year, Sepp Kuss was on top of the world. He had just won his maiden Grand Tour, the 2023 Vuelta a España, as Jumbo-Visma claimed a clean sweep of the Grand Tours that year. At the end of 2023, a major question hung over the upcoming 2024 cycling season: Would Sepp Kuss confirm his position as a leader of Visma | Lease a Bike, as they are now called, after his Vuelta victory?

What followed, however, was a disappointing year for Kuss. Mathieu Heijboer, head of performance for Visma, spoke to Rouleur about the situation.

“We will certainly see him chase general classifications in the future, but always in the function of the team. Sepp functions best as one of the boys, one of the leaders, but not the only leader.”

Heijboer elaborated further on Kuss' role within the team, explaining, “He likes to be the last man for Jonas Vingegaard, or to help Wout van Aert, for example, back in Cordoba. Those were moments that gave him a lot of joy and pleasure. But he is not someone who only wants to support—he also wants to pursue his own ambitions. The best for Sepp is a strategy with two leaders.”

Originally, this two-leader approach was planned for the 2024 Vuelta, where Kuss would ride alongside Cian Uijtdebroeks.

“We went into the Vuelta with both Sepp and Cian fighting for the GC, but the reality is that Cian was not at the level, and Sepp, as reigning champion, was our only GC rider after a few stages,” Heijboer explained. “We do think that the long 2023 season with three Grand Tours, the battered build-up during the Dauphiné, and missing the Tour are the real reasons why his performances were less this autumn.”

Looking ahead, Kuss is keen to return to the double act of the Tour de France and Vuelta in 2025.

“Previously, he always rode the Vuelta with the Tour in his legs, and he likes that,” Heijboer noted.

Despite the pressure and expectations following his 2023 triumph, Kuss' temperament has remained steady. “Sepp has a stable personality. He has shown no signs that he did not like it or could not handle the pressure, but it was certainly a different situation for him to start the season as a Grand Tour winner with some expectations, as well as the contract extension in the winter.”