"Simon lives in his own way" - Sepp Kuss doesn't find former teammate Yates' retirement strange, but was a surprise

The mentality of professional cyclists varies from rider to rider and there are different mentalities in the peloton regarding how to perform, train, and communicate. From within Team Visma | Lease a Bike, it was possible to understand that Simon Yates was a more reserved person, and Sepp Kuss admits that whilst he was surprised, the announcement didn't come off as something that wasn't logic.

Kuss enters another year with Visma where he is set to keep Jonas Vingegaard company at the Volta a Catalunya, altitude before the Giro d'italia, and then both Giro and Tour de France. It will be a busy year for the American who has the potential to do what he did in 2023 when he raced all three Grand Tours, but the priority is going to be in supporting the Dane in his pursuit of the two Grand Tours, and further improvement.

“He’s more motivated than in previous years when his schedule was always the same. If things didn’t go well toward the Tour, it felt like you’d lost the whole year" Kuss argued in words to AS. This was cited as one of the big reasons for Vingegaard's calendar change, although of course many saw this decision as logic following his Vuelta a España win - which leaves only the Giro as the Grand Tour he hasn't been able to win yet.

Kuss has been a valuable right-hand man for Vingegaard over the past few years and in 2025 he returned to his best level, putting in some very strong climbing performances at both Tour and Vuelta, whilst finishing seventh himself in the latter.

“His Giro participation will take a lot of pressure off and place the Tour in a different perspective. Jonas already wanted to go to the Giro last year, but it wasn’t easy for the team," he reveals. "The Tour is the most important race for everyone, and then a Giro participation comes with risks. But he’s motivated, and it’s good that he’s taking on other challenges and stepping out of his comfort zone.”

Kuss' role in the team is going to be bigger, taking into consideration the team has started its season without one of its main climbers in Simon Yates, who announced his retirement from the sport in early January. The Briton was the main topic of discussion during Visma's media day, where most described him as a more reserved person, who likely had the idea of retiring for a long time.

"If you know him, it’s not so strange. Simon lives in his own way, and the thought of stopping has probably crossed his mind before," Kuss points out. The two were only teammates during a year, but Kuss was able to spend time with the Briton who had only a few days to celebrate and recover from his Giro d'Italia win before he travelled to an altitude camp with the Tour block.

Kuss will have bigger shoes to fill taking into consideration that Yates will not be there to support Vingegaard in neither the Giro d'Italia or Tour de France. "It came as a surprise, and it’s a shame that we lose him in our Tour plans, but we have to go on without him".