Crashes are a part of the Tour de France and Durango’s Sepp Kuss experienced that on Tuesday during Stage 4 of the Tour.
Kuss was involved in a crash in the middle of the peloton on Tuesday during the 174.2-kilometer stage from Amiens Métropole, France, to Rouen, France. Kuss, riding for Visma-Lease a Bike, was riding on the left side of the peloton with about 53 km left in the stage when a rider crashed in the middle after going over a raised median strip, falling into another rider on the left, who then fell into Kuss.
Luckily for Kuss, the peloton wasn’t moving very quickly and he wasn’t hit by any other riders trying to avoid the crash. It was a slow fall for the Durangoan; he got up, checked his bike and was on his way to chase down the peloton down the road.
He bounced back from his fall and finished the stage in 51st out of 181 riders. He was 2:30 behind winner Tadej Pogačar, riding for UAE Teams Emirates-XRG, who sprinted to the win and finished the stage in three hours, 50 minutes and 29 seconds.
Kuss’ crash didn’t stop his team leader, Jonas Vingegaard, from finishing third. Fellow American and Visma-Lease a Bike rider Matteo Jorgenson finished eighth.
Stage 4 started in Amiens Métropole before heading southwest in a relatively flat first part of the stage. Riders then headed north for the finish and experienced the biggest climbs of the day and the most technical sections.
The peloton stayed together before Pogačar attacked on a climb with about 5.4 km left and Vingegaard went with him.
A chase group of five caught the two rivals and made a lead group of seven with about 4 km to go. The stage win came down to a sprint finish and Pogačar timed his sprint perfectly for the win over Mathieu van der Poel in second and Vingegaard in third.
“The guys executed the plan to perfection,” Visma-Lease a Bike Head of Racing Grischa Niermann said in a press release after Stage 4. “It was impressive how Jonas managed to follow Pogačar’s attack. It was right on the limit, but that was the case for everyone at that moment. Today made it clear once again how difficult it is to stay with those two when they accelerate. I’m proud of how we raced as a team. We can approach the next stages with confidence.”
Kuss, riding as a domestique for Vingegaard, is 33rd in the general classification after four stages. van der Poel, riding for Alpecin-Deceuninck, leads the GC in 16:46:00, ahead of Pogačar in second with the same time and Vingegaard in third, eight seconds behind. Kuss was 3:56 behind van der Poel and Pogačar.
Fellow Durangoan Quinn Simmons is 91st in the GC, with his best stage finish of 70th coming on Tuesday. Simmons is 17:16 behind van der Poel in first. The Durango native is riding for Lidl-Trek in a domestique role for team leader Mattias Skjelmose and sprinter Jonathan Milan.
The Tour kicked off on Saturday with the 184.9 km Stage 1, which started and finished in Lille Metropole, France. The stage was mostly flat and considered a sprinter’s stage. Jasper Philipsen, riding for Alpecin-Deceunick, won the big sprint finish. Kuss, known as a strong climber and not a sprinter, finished 119th. Simmons was 142nd.
On Sunday, the riders started Stage 2 in Lauwin-Planque, France, and rode 209.1 km northwest to the finish in Boulgne-sur-Mer, France.
Riders had to deal with rain early in the stage and then lots of climbing. A lead group of 19 riders approached the finish; van der Poel beat Pogačar in a sprint finish for the win.
Neither Kuss nor Simmons was near the top; Kuss finished 44th and Simmons 108th.
On Monday, the Tour started Stage 3 in Valenciennes, France, and then headed northwest to Isbergues, France, before heading north to Dunkirk, France, for the finish.
The 178.3 km stage will be remembered for Philipsen’s crash with about 60 km left. The lead group was sprinting for points for the green jersey when Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) collided with Laurenz Rex (Intermarché -Wanty), sending Coquard into Philipsen at high speed.
Philipsen crashed right on his collarbone and had to abandon the Tour after starting it as one of the favorites for the green sprinter’s jersey. He had surgery to repair a fractured collarbone and acromioclavicular joint.
Stage 3 was another sprint finish, with Tim Merlier, riding for Soudal Quick-Step, beating a large lead group to the line. Kuss finished 109th and Simmons in 128th.
Riders will compete in a 33 km time trial for Stage 5 on Wednesday.
Simmons is 20th in the youth classification heading into Stage 5. Kuss’ Visma-Lease a Bike squad has the team classification lead; Simmons’ Lidl-Trek is 18th.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
