Durango’s Sepp Kuss finished second overall Monday after the four-stage Tour of Alberta in Canada.
The 22-year-old professional road cyclist finished 18 seconds behind his Rally Cycling teammate Evan Huffman of California. The two held off the Cannondale Drapac Professional Cycling team duo of Alex Howes and Tom-Jelte Salgter, who finished third and fourth respectively, both 31 seconds behind Huffman.
Huffman’s winning time was 12 hours, 55 seconds. Kuss finished in 12:01:13.
Kuss wore the King of the Mountain jersey after the race’s third stage in Edmonton. He finished third overall in the KOM standings.
The Tour of Alberta is Canada’s biggest stage race governed by the International Cycling Union. It covered 332.8 miles in four stages.
Kuss, son of Dolph and Sabina Kuss, finished second to Huffman on the opening stage, and the two maintained that position the rest of the weekend.
The opening stage featured three laps through Jasper National Park with a finish at the Marmot Basin Ski Area. The second stage was in Spruce Grove just west of Edmonton. The final two stages were held in Edmonton.
Wouter Wippert of Cannondale Drapac won the second stage. Kuss finished 15th in the same time as the stage winner. Stage 3 was claimed by Howes, with Wippert second. Kuss rode to eighth in the same time.
The final stage was won by Wippert again, and Kuss finished 12th in the same time.
Kuss, who will turn 23 on Sept. 13, has had a big season with strong showings at the Tour of the Gila, Tour of California and Tour of Utah along with the Colorado Classic. He also won the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic in May, only weeks removed from graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
