ARCOS DE LAS SALINAS, Spain – A big effort from Sepp Kuss helped Jumbo-Visma make a move during the fifth stage of the Spanish Vuelta on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old from Durango riding in support of Jumbo-Visma team leader Primoz Roglic turned in a brilliant ride on the 105-mile stage with a summit finish by an astronomical observatory in the city of Arcos de las Salinas. Kuss gave his all and finished the stage ninth, 1 minute, 41 seconds behind the winning time of Angel Madrazo. That helped Roglic finish the stage sixth, 59 seconds behind, and Roglic soared from sixth to second in the overall race standings and is only 14 seconds behind the lead held by Miguel �ngel López.
“In the beginning, it went fairly easily. Nobody in the peloton felt the need to take the initiative and in addition, the leading group was very strong,� Kuss said in a team news release. “Heavy days are coming, so you can’t give everything every day. I feel good, and it was great that I could help Primoz. Hopefully I can continue this for the rest of the Vuelta.�
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A final charge in the last 500 yards helped Madrazo win the stage 10 seconds in front of teammate Jetse Bol of the Burgos-BH team.
“To win here is one of the biggest achievements as a cyclist and for me it’s become a dream come true,� the Spanish rider said. “The team was telling me to save energy for tomorrow for the mountain points. And I told them, ‘No, no, we need to go for it, we can’t put off until tomorrow what can be done today.’�
López, a Colombian from Astana Pro Team, finished 47 seconds behind Madrazo. López and Valverde had been nearly seven minutes behind the breakaway group entering the final climb but cut most of the gap.
López is 14 seconds in front of Roglic, and Nairo Quintana of Movistar Team is 23 seconds off the lead while Valverde trails by 28 seconds in fourth place. Irish rider Nicolas Roche, who held the leader’s jersey entering Wednesday’s stage, fell to fifth place overall, 57 second behind López.
“I am happy with how I rode today,� Roglic said in the team release. “Fortunately, I got through the first few days well. The whole team was very strong. When Valverde went and dropped Quintana, I was able to follow. We know how strong he is. He has already proven that in the past. When he won this race 10 years ago, I was still a ski jumper.�
Kuss also improved in the overall standings and is in the top 100 at 79th. He is 18:30 behind the López lead.
Thursday’s sixth stage will take riders nearly 124 miles from Mora de Rubielos to another mountain-top finish in Ares del Maestrat.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
