Sepp Kuss named to Team Jumbo-Visma roster for Tour de France

Sepp Kuss attacked the final climb alone during Stage 15 of the 2019 Spanish Vuelta. The climbing sensation made it to the finish line first to secure his first stage win at a UCI Grand Tour event. Now, Kuss will go into 2020 targeting the Tour de France and the Spanish Vuelta as his two biggest races.

Courtesy of Team Jumbo-Visma

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Sepp Kuss attacked the final climb alone during Stage 15 of the 2019 Spanish Vuelta. The climbing sensation made it to the finish line first to secure his first stage win at a UCI Grand Tour event. Now, Kuss will go into 2020 targeting the Tour de France and the Spanish Vuelta as his two biggest races.

Courtesy of Team Jumbo-Visma

The writing was already on the wall after a strong 2019. Now, it’s official. Sepp Kuss is slated to compete in his first Tour de France in 2020.

Team Jumbo-Visma made the announcement Friday. After he won the Spanish Vuelta in September, Primož Roglic of Slovenia will lead the squad with support from Kuss, the 25-year-old from Durango who won Stage 15 of the Vuelta last year. It was the first stage win for Kuss in one of the three UCI WorldTour Grand Tour events – the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Spanish Vuelta.

Our 2020 @LeTour team will be @rogla @tom_dumoulin @s_kruijswijk @tonymartin85 @seppkuss @LaurensDePlus @RGUpdate and @WoutvanAert

— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) December 20, 2019

A climbing specialist, Kuss played a big role in Roglic’s third-place finish at last year’s Giro and his win in the Vuelta. After a climbing-heavy 2020 Tour de France route was unveiled in October, and with Roglic’s desire to go for the Tour de France, it was expected Kuss would be named to the team. There are 29 classified climbs during the 20-day race, which will begin June 27 and run through July 19.

Kuss

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Kuss

“It’s really an incredible feeling to be part of the Tour de France roster,” Kuss said in a message to The Durango Herald. “I’m honored to be in the team’s plan for the biggest race in cycling. The Tour is still a long way out, and a lot can happen, but already having that target gives me a lot of motivation for the coming season.”

Along with Roglic and Kuss are Tom Dumoulin, Steven Kruijswijk, Tony Martin, Laurens De Plus, Robert Gesink and Wout van Aert. It is a loaded team to go after Team Ineos, which will be led by defending champion Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas. It is unclear whether Chris Froome, a four-time Tour de France winner, will be recovered from injuries sustained in a 2019 crash in time for the Tour de France. He called the 2020 route the hardest in the last five or six years.

Kuss also will plan to race in the 2020 Spanish Vuelta, if all goes well. Of course, his schedule will depend on health.

“I’m also looking forward to racing the Vuelta a España shortly after the Tour. Should be a busy summer,” Kuss said.

jlivingston@durangoherald.com