The Giro for Primoz Roglic, the Tour de France for Jonas Wingegaard and the Vuelta for Sep Kus. The Jumbo-Visma armada couldn’t have dreamed of anything better and had just achieved what no other team in the history of cycling has achieved: winning three Grand Tours in one season. Behind this success, the surprise lies in the identity of the last winner, as it was the usual lieutenant of the leaders, Sep Kus, who won the Vuelta on Sunday 17 September.
Coming into the final stage in Guadarrama on Saturday, the 29-year-old American crossed the finish line alongside Roglic and Wingegaard, although he was heavily favored at the start of the Tour of Spain. “It was a special moment to experience it with two of my teammates.”smiled Cus, the first American to win a Grand Tour since Chris Horner at the Vuelta in 2013.
In the final stage on the streets of Madrid, which served as the closing ceremony on Sunday, the model teammate was able to celebrate the unexpected change of status. Previously, Kusi in the yellow and black formation was the one who accompanied and protected the leaders on their way up the mountain. Indispensably, he has been a key player in the Dutch national team’s 6 grand tour victories since 2019.
Often portrayed as the top lieutenant in the platoon, Kus has been in agreement in recent years to assume the role of team leader. ” I don’t have the mindset of a candidate to win a Grand Tour. I have endurance, I work hard, but there are also small sacrifices and I have to concentrate on all the details every day.”he explained Eurosport in 2020.
The problems of the jumbo-wisma rich
That status fell to him during this Tour of Spain, with a Stage 8 finish in Xorret de Cati. In the mountains, two days before stage 6 on Pico del Buitre, Kus won the red jersey of the general classification leader. Without further ado, what happens next? “Of course, it would be nice to keep the red shirt until the end. But I don’t have enough control over time. ยป
At the time trial of the 10th stage in Valladolid, the American still limited the damage and kept the red jersey. The beginning of the puzzle for Jumbo-Visma, knowing who to attribute the leader status in this Vuelta, among the turtles, well anchored at the head of the general, Roglic, already three times winner of the event (2019, 2020, 2021). ), and Wingegaard, a double winner of the Tour de France (2022, 2023) and who aims to win all three Grand Tours.
Source: Le Monde
Jason Root is a sports aficionado and a writer at Run Down Bulletin. With a passion for athletic competition and a wealth of knowledge on all things sports, he provides in-depth coverage of the biggest games and events in the world of sports.
