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[1/2]Biking – Vuelta a Espana – Stage 21 – Hipodromo de la Zarzuela to Madrid – Spain – September 17, 2023 Staff Jumbo–Visma’s Sepp Kuss celebrates with teammates after successful Vuelta a Espana REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photograph Acquire Licensing Rights
LONDON, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Sepp Kuss’s unlikely victory in La Vuelta a Espana might present a well timed enhance for a flagging street cycle racing scene in the US, in line with Chris Horner whose 2013 triumph Kuss emulated on Sunday.
The 29-year-old Kuss entered the race as a ‘domestique’ for extra illustrious Jumbo-Visma crew mates Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic. However after taking the crimson jersey on stage eight he by no means let it go, regardless of assaults from inside his personal crew.
Kuss ended a 10-year watch for an American Grand Tour win and can go down as one of the standard winners in latest instances — disproving the speculation that good guys do not win.
Whether or not he can grow to be a daily GC contender relies upon very a lot on the strategists at Jumbo-Visma however in successful a race extra brutal than the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia he proved that he’s way over a loyal servant to so-called huge names.
Horner, whose victory on the 2013 Vuelta made him the primary official U.S. rider to win a three-week race since Greg LeMond in 1990, hopes Kuss’s heroics have an effect again dwelling in a rustic nonetheless scarred by Lance Armstrong’s doping notoriety.
The street race scene is hardly booming in the uswith few stage-racing alternatives for up-and-coming riders after the demise of the Tour of California, Colorado and Utah.
“I hope to see that this offers U.S. racing a kick and that we see sponsors come again,” Horner advised biking platform GCN.
“You may get extra U.S. groups discovering sponsorship as a substitute of getting simply Lidl-Trek and EF Training-EasyPost, who do not have that many Individuals on the crew, and it might probably carry in additional sponsors and assist the game develop.
“The racing scene within the U.S. is drowning or at finest its nostril is over the water. Hopefully this brings out the publicity but it surely does take just a few years, it does not occur instantly.”
Kuss’s victory was all of the extra exceptional as till the previous few days it appeared unclear whether or not Giro d’Italia champion or Tour de France winner Vingegaard have been serving to him or attempting to grab the crimson jersey from him.
Vingegaard attacked on stage 16 and took one minute out of Kuss’s lead and on stage 17, ending on the notorious Angliru climb, Kuss was once more left by his illustrious crew mates however held on grimly to complete third and keep within the lead.
Jumbo-Visma’s techniques have been criticised after that, with many believing Kuss ought to have been protected — given all of the years he has spent serving to Vingegaard and Roglic win a number of Grand Excursions, together with at this yr’s Tour de France and Giro.
“The administration at Jumbo solely turned the web page as a result of there was an outcry from followers and a PR nightmare that Jumbo have been going by way of,” Horner advised GCN.
“That is why they turned the web page. They did not flip the web page as a result of Angliru was accomplished. It was a nightmare situation. They have been having conferences earlier than the race, through the race, after the race, after which earlier than everybody went to mattress.
“They have been in all probability having their alarm clocks go off at 2am for one more assembly. There was lots of stress there for Sepp (to win) and the crew ultimately got here round.”
Dutch outfit Jumbo-Visma grew to become the primary crew to win all three Grand Excursions in a season, culminating in a sweep of the rostrum in Madrid.
“Successful collectively isn’t solely our slogan but in addition our trademark,” CEO Richard Plugge mentioned.
Reporting by Martyn Herman
Enhancing by Christian Radnedge
Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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