Sepp Kuss suffers major time loss after rough day at La Vuelta: "We can make a lot of plans, but in the end the legs have to be able to execute them"

Mikel Landa was the rider who suffered the biggest defeat on stage 18 of the Vuelta a España, but alongside him in the small group was Sepp Kuss. The American was already outside the Top10 but has lost another three minutes in his pursuit for a good GC result.

3:20 minutes lost at the finish line to the main GC group where Ben O'Connor finished. Kuss lost ground on the Puerto Herrera as Richard Carapaz attacked, and was then forced to just limit losses in the final kilometers. Attila Valter pulled back to help in the group as did three Soudal - Quick-Step riders; but it was impossible to reverse the losses.

“When Sepp struggled after the attacks in the peloton, we hoped to limit the damage with Attila's help. Unfortunately, Sepp turned out to have a lesser day," team DS Grischa Niermann said in a press release. "After today, he is still 12th in the general classification, but the gap to tenth place has grown. We will see from day to day what is possible in the final weekend. We can make a lot of plans, but in the end the legs have to be able to execute them.”

Kuss starts stage 19 9:45 minutes away from the red jersey but 3:07 minutes away from the 10th spot of Pavel Sivakov.