"There were never any arguments" - Sepp Kuss clarifies what went down within Jumbo-Visma at the Vuelta a Espana

The 2023 Vuelta a Espana was incredibly memorable for a number of reasons but none more so than the drama within Jumbo-Visma as Primoz Roglic, Jonas Vingegaard and Sepp Kuss fought to earn the right of team leader.

At least that's how it seemed to go down from the outside. According to the Red Jersey himself however, the understanding was always there between the three riders. "There were never any arguments," insists Kuss in conversation with GCN. "I think especially among us three there was always an understanding. I understand, and understood, everyone’s position and looking from the outside, it is always easier to make of it different things. But in the end, all of us were racing our bikes and the main thing was that there were no other rivals except us, which made it seem more of an internal fight - but there was no fighting."

"There was an understanding and everyone wants to get the most out of themselves, I think it was only magnified by the fact that there was no Tadej Pogačar, Remco Evenepoel was out of the picture and whilst there were really strong rivals during the race, they were not our direct rivals," he analyses.

Nevertheless, following the fallout from the final Grand Tour of 2023, Roglic has departed for BORA - hansgrohe, something that Kuss admits he kind of saw coming. "Maybe the Vuelta was the final turning point but in the end, the Tour de France is the only race he hasn’t won and in order to win the Tour, oftentimes you have to be the sole leader and have the whole team behind you," says the American. "I think it was a normal direction for things to go."