A yr is a very long time in biking. Twelve months in the past, Sepp Kuss rode into Madrid within the pink jersey as his Jumbo-Visma group accomplished a sweep of each the Vuelta a España podium and the season’s Grand Excursions. On Sunday night, the Vuelta had a extra low-key finale for Kuss, who ended the race in 14th place general, greater than 20 minutes behind his former teammate Primož Roglič.
Now plying his commerce with Crimson Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Roglič’s win was the ultimate instalment in Slovenia’s dominance of the season’s Grand Excursions after Tadej Pogačar’s triumphs on the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.
It has been a extra sobering season for Kuss’ squad, rebranded as Visma-Lease a Bike, with in poor health fortune a continuing all year long. Jonas Vingegaard carried out remarkably to put second on the Tour after a career-threatening crash at Itzulia Basque Nation, whereas Wout van Aert suffered season-defining falls at Dwars door Vlaanderen and once more on this Vuelta.
Kuss endured his share of arduous luck too, lacking the Tour de France after contracting COVID-19 in June. Though he received the Vuelta a Burgos on his return to competitors in August, Kuss by no means fairly regarded as much as the pitch of Roglič et al on the Vuelta. His title defence, already flagging within the opening section, had primarily ended by the point the race reached Asturias on the finish of the second week.
With a lot arduous terrain within the ultimate part of the race, Kuss had hoped to hunt a stage victory on the Alto del Moncalvillo or Picón Blanco, however as an alternative he slipped additional down the standings. It was that sort of race.
“Now I’m glad it’s over,” Kuss acknowledged when he accomplished his time trial in Madrid on Sunday evening. “The final two days I actually suffered quite a bit, and so they glided by slowly. I’m glad it’s over. However I realized quite a bit on this race, as I do in each Grand Tour. It’s been a tough one.”
It’s by no means straightforward to dissect a disappointing Grand Tour, notably in the midst of a loud ending space instantly after finishing the final of the race’s 3,265km. There might be time sufficient for a full debrief within the weeks forward, however on Sunday night, Kuss was reluctant to quote his illness-interrupted summer time as a proof.
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“It’s arduous to say. I imply, I didn’t have my greatest type however on a number of phases I used to be actually proud of my efficiency. It’s simply the extent is tremendous excessive,” Kuss mentioned. “There’s no excuses, actually. You may at all times say one factor or one other, however on the finish of the day all people has hurdles and issues or excuses. I simply should be higher subsequent time round.”
The Vuelta victory of final yr was all of the extra notable as a result of Kuss had performed such an important supporting position for Roglič on the Giro and for Vingegaard on the Tour. Fairly than really feel drained by these efforts, Kuss appeared in a position to attract on deep reservoirs of endurance as August flipped into September. This outing, the Vuelta was his first Grand Tour the yr and he felt missing in some departments.
“I feel on this race I seen on the tougher days that I missed that little bit of racing health that you simply solely get from races or from doing Grand Excursions,” Kuss mentioned. “However for certain, doing three Grand Excursions isn’t one thing that’s tremendous sustainable yearly. For me, it was arduous to overlook the Tour in itself, however it was additionally arduous to overlook it when it comes to getting ready for the Vuelta.”
For a lot of the Vuelta, Visma-Lease a Bike had nonetheless regarded destined to safe a podium spot in Madrid, with Van Aert having fun with a resurgence on Spanish roads after a damaged collarbone had ended his Classics marketing campaign prematurely.
The Belgian had an early spell within the pink jersey and after amassing three stage victories, and he led each the factors and mountains classifications initially of the third week. Van Aert’s race and season ended, nonetheless, when he sustained a deep lower to his knee in a crash on the descent of the Collada Llomena on stage 16.
“With the three phases Wout received, we have been actually on a excessive and he was going for the mountains jersey and that was an entire different goal,” Kuss mentioned. “To be trustworthy, when he needed to abandon the race due to a crash, I feel it was actually arduous for all of us, as a result of all of us missed that sort of focus, together with myself. It was actually arduous to recalibrate after that.”
