Wout van Aert thanks Sepp Kuss after stage 7 win at La Vuelta: "A textbook example of our team philosophy... sacrificing yourself for others"
CyclingSaturday, 24 August 2024 at 12:07
So often over the years, Sepp Kuss has unselfishly buried himself in service of his teammates and on stage 7 of the 2024 Vuelta a Espana this was the case again although in a somewhat different capacity than normal.
Ordinarily using his talents to help teammates succeed in the high mountains, Kuss completely gave his all in order to ensure a reduced bunch sprint finale on the flat finale of stage 7, one in which his Team Visma | Lease a Bike teammate Wout van Aert triumphed. Afterwards, the Belgian was full of praise for Kuss' selfless work in the finale.
“I didn’t expect this race development. I thought we would finish with a bigger group. But it went so fast on the final climb, the race completely exploded there," reflects Van Aert, who is beginning to assemble a comfortable lead in the Green Jersey classification, in his post-stage interview.
“It was difficult to manage, but Kuss did a great job. I don't think many people realize what it is like to cycle so hard on the flat as a sixty-kilogram person. I had goosebumps in his wheel. That's why I wanted to finish it off. This is a big win,” Van Aert says of his teammate. “This is a textbook example of our team philosophy. It’s not just about winning, it’s about sacrificing yourself for others. The defending champion who rides himself completely empty...”
Van Aert had even attempted an attack of his own in the finale, but was not given any leeway by his rivals. “I thought: maybe they’ll let me go. But UAE immediately followed me," he recalls of the situation. "I didn’t want to take the risk of being at the front, but still being caught by the rest of the group. And after that I could count on Kuss.”
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- His injury problems were known to his past team who still tried to re-sign him, who’s fault, especially if the medical team fails to resolve problems? Not sure it’s offered or possible but teams are free to consider insurance or contract clauses in order to mitigate financial risks.Mistermaumau09-05-2025
- Lafay is the classic example of you get a great TDF stage win, get a lucrative contract and then you dont perform ever again, due to partying or injuries.abstractengineer09-05-2025
- I think it’s pretty weird under the circumstances and won’t be surprised if one day we discover some unmentioned detail that triggered this. In the meantime, hope he finds himself elsewhere.Mistermaumau08-05-2025
- Reusser is amazing too. More than just a TT specialist.mobk08-05-2025
- Tough to beat her on the long climbs if she has a team that will bring her fresh to the bottom of the climbsmobk08-05-2025
- Er, building up a 20 second gap in less than a km against the best is not exactly nothing, must have been at least 10% faster. Peletons also reel in breakaways but if they don’t manage BEFORE the end the reeling in doesn’t really mean much does it. She did exactly the right think, destroyed the others’ chances of catching her with a massive attack.Mistermaumau08-05-2025
- Demi must be so happy to now be on a team that works for her, and not against her. I think that if she and the team get their tactics dialed in, she could prove to be unstoppable this year.
santiagobenites08-05-2025 - I wouldn't call 24 seconds destroyed. At the end she was suffering and Reusser was slowly reeling her backabstractengineer08-05-2025
- I dont expect much from them top 5 maybeabstractengineer08-05-2025
Subtle message to Vingegaard I guess, sacrifice yourself to me like Sepp did. But Vingegaard is a leader now, not his role to do stuff like that when you race for GC, and Sepp Kuss never was or will be a real one.
“This is a textbook example of our team philosophy. It’s not just about winning, it’s about sacrificing yourself for others"....
I guess Wout has a short memory but then again he wasn't at last years Vuelta for that team drama !
Hahaha good one . What happened to that when you dropped Vin and rode away to win stage in TDF .
RU serious? The Cobble stage, he saved it for Jonas when he could have tried to win.
Jonas was very happy Wout won that stage
Wout owes a big thanks for the stage victory to Aleksandr Vlasov as well.