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Sepp Kuss

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Sepp Kuss
Kuss at the 2023 Vuelta a España
Personal information
NicknameThe Durango Kid
The Mailman[1]
The Eagle of Durango[2][3]
Born (1994-09-13) September 13, 1994 (age 30)
Durango, Colorado
Height1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)[4]
Weight61 kg (134 lb; 9 st 8 lb)[5]
Team information
Current teamVisma–Lease a Bike
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeClimber
Super-domestique
Amateur team
2016Gateway Harley Davidson / Trek
Professional teams
2016–2017Rally Cycling
2018–LottoNL–Jumbo[6][7]
Major wins
Grand Tours
Tour de France
1 individual stage (2021)
Vuelta a España
General classification (2023)
2 individual stages (2019, 2023)
1 TTT stage (2022)

Stage races

Vuelta a Burgos (2024)
Tour of Utah (2018)

Sepp Kuss (born September 13, 1994) is an American professional cyclist from Durango, Colorado. He is the winner of the 2023 Vuelta a España, becoming the first American to do so since Chris Horner in 2013.[8] Kuss currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Visma–Lease a Bike,[9] where he has primarily served as a domestique. A talented climber, he has played a crucial role in helping team leaders Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard secure a combined six Grand Tour victories.[10] Throughout his career, Kuss has also achieved individual success, winning stages at both the Tour de France and Vuelta a España. He is one of only two riders to win a Grand Tour having finished all three Grand Tours in the same year.

Career

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Early career

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Kuss started out in mountain bike racing as a junior and as a student at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he won three national titles at the Collegiate championships in XC (2014 and 2015) and Short Track (2014).[11][12] His cycling ambitions at the time were to take cycling as far as he could after finishing his degree. When asked which one person he would want to sit and have lunch with he answered Peter Sagan.[13]

Kuss began the 2016 season racing for the amateur Gateway Harley Davidson / Trek team. His first win was on a summit finish stage in the Redlands Bicycle Classic.[14] Kuss finished fourth at the Mogollon stage at the Tour of the Gila, a UCI 2.2 stage race. He rode with Rally Cycling in the latter part of 2016 and during 2017, before joining LottoNL–Jumbo, initially on a two-year contract.[15]

2018–present

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Kuss won 3 stages and the general classification at the 2018 Tour of Utah.[16]

He rode in the 2018 Vuelta a España[17] and the 2019 Giro d'Italia.[18] before getting his first grand tour stage win in stage 15 of the 2019 Vuelta a España, launching a solo attack from the day's breakaway with 7 kilometers to go, and supporting his team leader Primož Roglič who won the overall classification.[19] He finished 15th overall in the 2020 Tour de France, again riding in support of Roglič. This was also the highest overall placing for an American since Andrew Talansky in 2015.

Kuss again supported Roglič's winning ride in the 2020 Vuelta a España.[20]

In July 2021, Kuss won stage 15 of the Tour de France after breaking away with 5 km to go to up the final climb of the day, the Col de Beixalis, from a group that had contained 32 riders. He was able to maintain his lead ahead of Alejandro Valverde in the 15 km that followed the pass. With this win Kuss became the first American to win a stage of the Tour de France since Tyler Farrar, who won stage 3 in 2011.[21]

Kuss at the 2022 Tour de France

During the 2021 Vuelta a España Kuss and his teammates Steven Kruijswijk and Sam Oomen rode in support of Roglič, who was going for his third consecutive Vuelta title. Kuss started the race strong taking the King of the Mountains jersey for two stages. He was one of the strongest riders in the race on the climb to Lagos de Covadonga on stage 17. As the finish line approached the sprint for second place began after Roglič won the stage and Kuss beat everyone else to the line to deny the bonus seconds to Roglič's rivals.[22] He ended the race in eighth place overall, the highest for an American since Talansky in five years earlier. This was his first top 10 in a grand tour, and Roglič once again won the Vuelta.

Kuss (right) riding in support of Primož Roglič at the 2023 Giro d'Italia

As a warmup for the upcoming Tour, Team Jumbo-Visma sent their primary favorites in Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard to the Critérium du Dauphiné, while Kuss was given the opportunity to ride in the 2022 Tour de Suisse and target the general classification. Kuss rode strong and was within +0:10 of the lead after stage 4, but prior to stage 5 the entire team had to abandon the race due to COVID.[23]

Kuss (right) riding in support of Jonas Vingegaard at the 2023 Tour de France

During the first two weeks of the 2022 Tour de France he rode in support of Roglič, Vingegaard, and Wout Van Aert as the team sought stage wins and to challenge defending champion Tadej Pogačar for the Yellow Jersey, both of which they were successful in doing. After the withdrawal of Roglič and Steven Kruijswijk crashing out on stage 15 it became clear the heavy work of defending Vingegaard would fall on Kuss in the final high mountain stages.[24] He shepherded Vingegaard up Hautacam, the final HC climb, as he had done for Roglič so many times in other grand tours, until the Dane attacked and tightened his grip on the race. The team was so successful that they held the yellow, green and polka dot jerseys as the race neared its end, and won them.[25]

Kuss rode in support of Roglič's victory in the 2023 Giro d'Italia and Vingegaard's win in the 2023 Tour de France. He rode his third Grand Tour of the year in the 2023 Vuelta a España as Jumbo-Visma attempted to become the first cycling team in history to sweep all three Grand Tours in a single season. On Stage 6, he won after attacking from a breakaway group of 40 riders, moving him into second place in the General Classification, eight seconds behind Lenny Martinez who was also in the day's breakaway.[26] Two days later, Kuss moved into the overall lead of the race after finishing a minute ahead of Martinez.[27] He successfully defended his lead for the remainder of the race, despite losing some time to Vingegaard. He became the first cyclist to both ride all three Grand Tours and win one in the same season since Gastone Nencini in 1957. Also for the first time in history, the same team has won all three grand tours in the same season.[28][29]

In 2024, Kuss was originally named in the team list for the 2024 Tour de France, but was scratched before the race began due to a Covid infection.[30]

Despite this interruption to his preparation, Kuss rode well in his next race, the 2024 Vuelta a Burgos, winning on a mountain-top finish on stage 3 and then defending to take the overall win by 5 seconds.[31] Kuss started the 2024 Vuelta a España, but was unable to defend his title and finished the race in 14th place.[32]

Personal life

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Kuss is of Slovenian descent.[33] He married Noemí Ferré Fernández, a Spanish professional cyclist, in 2022.[34]

Major results

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Mountain bike

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2014
National Collegiate Championships
1st Cross-country
1st Short track
2015
1st Cross-country, National Collegiate Championships

Road

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2016
1st Stage 2 Redlands Bicycle Classic
6th Overall Tour de Beauce
1st Stage 2
2017
2nd Overall Tour of Alberta
6th Overall Colorado Classic
8th Overall Tour of the Gila
9th Overall Tour of Utah
2018 (4 pro wins)
1st Overall Tour of Utah
1st Mountains classification
1st Stages 2, 5 & 6
2019 (1)
1st Stage 15 Vuelta a España
5th Japan Cup
2020 (1)
8th Overall Tour de la Provence
10th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné
1st Stage 5
Vuelta a España
Held after Stage 1
2021 (1)
1st Stage 15 Tour de France
8th Overall Vuelta a España
Held after Stages 1 & 2
2022
1st Stage 1 (TTT) Vuelta a España
3rd Faun-Ardèche Classic
2023 (2)
1st Overall Vuelta a España
1st Stage 6
5th Overall UAE Tour
2024 (2)
1st Overall Vuelta a Burgos
1st Stage 3
1st Mountains classification, Tour of the Basque Country
6th Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior
8th Overall Volta ao Algarve

General classification results timeline

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Sources:[35]

Grand Tour general classification results
Grand Tour 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Giro d'Italia — 56 — — — 14 —
Tour de France — — 15 32 17 12 —
Vuelta a España 65 29 16 8 DNF 1 14
Major stage race general classification results
Race 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Paris–Nice — — — — — — —
Tirreno–Adriatico — — — — 68 — —
Volta a Catalunya — DNF NH 12 — 19 13
Tour of the Basque Country DNF 95 — DNF — 41
Tour de Romandie — — 14 12 — —
Critérium du Dauphiné 34 26 10 23 — — DNF
Tour de Suisse — — NH — DNF — —


Legend
— Did not compete
IP In progress

References

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  1. ^ "'I just somersaulted': Sepp Kuss tumbles out of Tour de France top 10 after crash". VeloNews. July 22, 2023. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  2. ^ Hood, Andrew (November 10, 2022). "Who is the "Eagle of Durango" mystery pro at Single Speed CX Worlds?". CyclingWeekly. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  3. ^ "Can Sepp Kuss win the Vuelta a España?". Outside. September 1, 2023. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  4. ^ "Team Jumbo-Visma | Sepp Kuss". Team Jumbo–Visma. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  5. ^ "Sepp Kuss". ProCyclingStats. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  6. ^ "Cheery Christmas for ambitious Team Jumbo-Visma". Team Jumbo–Visma. Team Oranje Road BV. December 21, 2018. Archived from the original on April 13, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  7. ^ "Team Jumbo-Visma 2020 roster presented in Amsterdam". Bianchi. F.I.V. Edoardo Bianchi S.p.A. December 20, 2019. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  8. ^ "Sepp Kuss wins Vuelta a Espana, joins U.S. cycling greats". NBC Sports. NBC. September 17, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  9. ^ "Jumbo-Visma". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  10. ^ Mikkelsen, Sebastian (September 8, 2023). "Sepp Kuss: The USA cycling domestique who became a Grand Tour winner". olympics.com. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  11. ^ Dobbins, Ryan (October 26, 2015). "Results: 2015 XC Collegiate National Championships". pinkbike.com. Outside. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  12. ^ Schultz, Jay (October 28, 2014). "Photo Epic: U.S. Collegiate Nationals". pinkbike.com. Outside. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  13. ^ "Sepp Kuss". University of Colorado. May 12, 2016. Archived from the original on September 6, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  14. ^ "Redlands stage winner Sepp Kuss joins Rally Cycling". Cyclingnews. May 26, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  15. ^ "Sepp Kuss signs with LottoNL-Jumbo". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. September 20, 2017. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  16. ^ Malach, Pat (August 12, 2018). "Kuss wins 2018 Tour of Utah". Cycling News. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  17. ^ "2018: 73rd Vuelta a España: Start List". Pro Cycling Stats. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  18. ^ "2019: 102nd Giro d'Italia: Start List". ProCyclingStats. Archived from the original on March 23, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  19. ^ "Vuelta a España stage 15: American Sepp Kuss takes stunning solo victory, Primoz Roglic retains lead". VeloNews. September 8, 2019. Archived from the original on September 15, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  20. ^ "Sepp Kuss stays loyal at Vuelta a España to help Primož Roglič limit losses on the Angliru". VeloNews.com. November 1, 2020. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  21. ^ "Sepp Kuss wins stage 15 of the Tour de France". CyclingTips. July 11, 2021. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  22. ^ "Sepp Kuss Climbs Into First Career Grand Tour Top 10..." Outside Magazine by Andrew Hood. September 6, 2021. Archived from the original on September 6, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  23. ^ Olivas, Cody (June 16, 2022). "COVID forces Jumbo Visma to abandon Tour de Suisse". The Durango Herald. Archived from the original on July 15, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  24. ^ Cotton, Jim (July 19, 2022). "Sepp Kuss weathers Pyrénéan storm at Tour de France as pressure mounts on Jumbo-Visma: Kuss delivers crushing ride on road to Foix as he carries burden of shepherding Vingegard through two mountaintops to come". Velo News by Outside Magazine. Archived from the original on July 23, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  25. ^ "Official classifications of Tour de France 2022 - Stage 21". www.letour.fr. Archived from the original on August 14, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  26. ^ "Vuelta a Espana: Sepp Kuss wins stage six, Lenny Martinez takes lead & Jumbo-Visma make move". BBC Sport. August 31, 2023. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  27. ^ "Vuelta a España: Roglic wins stage eight and Kuss claims red jersey". The Guardian. September 2, 2023. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  28. ^ "Kuss crowned Vuelta champion as Jumbo-Visma make history". france24.com. September 17, 2023. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  29. ^ "Sepp Kuss wins Vuelta a España with Kaden Groves taking sprint finish". Guardian. September 17, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  30. ^ "Sepp Kuss ruled out of Tour de France after COVID-19 infection at Dauphiné". June 25, 2024.
  31. ^ "Kuss takes home overall win at Vuelta a Burgos". Team Visma Lease-a-bike. August 9, 2024. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  32. ^ "'There's no excuses' – Sepp Kuss unsparing in assessment of Vuelta a España defence". CyclingNews. September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  33. ^ ""Od kod se je pa ta Kuss vzel?" Iz Žvirč v Suhi krajini!".
  34. ^ "Instagram (Sepp Kuss's personal profile)". www.instagram.com. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  35. ^ "Our eight riders for the Vuelta a Espana". Team Jumbo-Visma. August 15, 2022. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
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