When Stage 9 of the Vuelta a España starts on Sunday, Durangoan Sepp Kuss will be wearing the red leader’s jersey.
Team Jumbo-Visma claimed a double victory on Saturday during the eighth stage of the grand tour. Primoz Roglic gave the yellow and black brigade its second stage win while Kuss took over the lead in the general classification. Kuss finished seventh to take the GC lead from Lenny Martinez and now has a 43-second lead over Marc Soler of UAE Team Emirates.
After Kuss’ stage win on Stage 6, it was another reward for the hard work he has put in all year for leaders Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard.
“I knew there was a chance I could take the jersey depending on how the stage went,” Kuss said. “It wasn’t until I crossed the line that I realized I had done it. I think it’s an honor to wear the red jersey tomorrow. I will try and enjoy it because it’s not something I will experience very often.”
The 165-kilometer stage featured five categorized climbs.
Thirty riders broke away from the peloton after a fast opening phase to take a six-minute lead. Led by Team Jumbo-Visma, the last escapees were caught at the foot of the Xorret de Catí.
Kuss was the first to make his move on this steep climb. The American opened up a small gap but was reeled in by the race leaders just before the summit. Roglic and Vingegaard followed the wheel of Soudal QuickStep’s Remco Evenepoel, who kept the pace high on the climb and the descent.
Roglic was then able to cross first, just ahead of Evenepoel, while Vingegaard finished fifth.
“The team did a great job, especially Robert Gesink,” Kuss said. “He rode so hard that everyone suffered, and I even started to doubt if I had good legs for a moment. But all the other guys deserve credit, too. I’m sure they gave Primoz the motivation to win this stage.”
Team Jumbo-Visma also survived the seventh stage of the Vuelta a España on Friday without too many problems. As expected, the 201-kilometer stage ended in a mass sprint. Geoffrey Soupe of TotalEnergies took the stage win. Kuss was briefly held up by a crash in the final eight kilometers, but escaped unscathed and remained second in the general classification.
