“The loss of Jonas hit hard, but I think we did very well as a team” - Sepp Kuss salvages Itzulia Basque Country for Visma | Lease a Bike with mountains classification victory

It was a tough week for Team Visma | Lease a Bike at Itzulia Basque Country, as a major crash on stage 4 of the race took out Jonas Vingegaard, leaving the Danish rider with a fractured collarbone, broken ribs and a collapsed lung, which is set to affect his preparation for the Tour de France later this summer.

This effectively ended the team’s hopes of a general classification victory, as Sepp Kuss was already two minutes and 40 seconds down in the overall standings by that point in the race. However, the American rider was able to salvage something from the race, as he got in breakaway on the final stage and took 27 points throughout the day to take the victory in the mountains classification.

Speaking to his team after the race, Kuss said “I am really happy that I was able to bring the mountain jersey home. The loss of Jonas hit hard, but I think we did very well as a team”. Sports director Frans Maassen reaffirmed this feeling, as he said “our thoughts are still with Jonas, but I am incredibly proud of the resilience the guys have shown this week. Winning the mountain jersey is the perfect proof of that. I’m happy to see that”.