Sepp Kuss Explains Vuelta a España Difficult Days At Jumbo-Visma 

Glad you enjoyed it!

@@tobiasdencker853 if JV and Primos were not 2nd and 3rd, it would've been clear they needed to help Sepp instead of race for their own time. It's a team sport like a relay race

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching and the support.

I keep wondering these same things. Also Primoz on his new team - he will undoubtedly want to defend his Giro win and we know he wants to go to the Tour, but does he also want to try to take the Vuelta because of this year? He can't do all three and Sepp has been clear that he won't do three again. So now what? It will be exciting to see it all unfold!

He has to be fit for TdF to help Jonas and you can't be after Giro, only if he definitely cements himself as GC leader or Jonas proves he can win without him will we see him at Giro

Lots of time to change his mind.

​@@danielkol477This year he kinda proved that he could be on a good level in the Tour after doing the Giro. If he goes all out for the Giro, he might not be at his very best at the Tour, but Visma also has Attila Valter and Matteo Jorgensen, who they could send to the Tour next year. They could help share the climbing workload, so Kuss could still go to the Tour, but in a position where he doesn't have to be there at all times.

​@@holmbjergas much as I'd like to see him race the Giro because he probably has the best shot to do well there. With Primoz gone and Sepp stepping up. He is a good backup plan in case something happens to Jonas. So for that reason I think he is less likely to do the Giro now.

i agree, but only in the last week was they stronger than sepp, i thnik they where pretty ecual in the first 2 weeks

That’s part of the story, true. But also the unique circumstances of that race, with Sepp getting in the big breakaway, intending to pressure Quickstep, but actually destroying Quickstep’s GC hopes. And then Jumbo wanting to settle the contest amicably between teammates, without giving an opening to UAE or Bahrain to exploit (like Jumbos attacking each other while Ayuso rides for the win). Cycling isn’t such a black and white sport.

@@TalleyrandsPuppetThe Sepp in the break towards the end of Week 1 bit isn’t even unique, they’ve done this plenty of times before in other GTs. Being a GC back-up like that is simply part of his normal role in these races. What made this time special was that the whole team was riding that stage for him to win in Andorra.

wow! Thanks!

Glad you liked it!

Glad you enjoyed it! Ahhh, thanks for saying so and dropping some love here.

Yea as Pinoy American who loves this sport; I would like to see more of a Killer instinct from him.

He is in some aspects. But not in all aspects. So no i don’t see Kuss beat Pogacar. But then Vingegaard may need Kuss’s help to get the job done.

Not sure if hes the 2nd best there is news out they signed Cian Uijtdebroeks who is one hell of a talent and probably a climber at the same level as Sepp

Couldn't agree more!

Which colours do you think those are? Asking cos there’s something about the tone of your comment that tells me you’re not seeing their actual colours, but I might be misinterpreting your words.

Pitting Jonas and Primoz against each was a calculated move by the teams Directors. Let them battle it out to see who is the true leader. Only problem is Sepp was too good and did what we always thought he could do. I’m sure they loved nothing more than to see Primoz writhe in his saddle respecting all the unwritten taboos of cycling. It can’t be more clear now that Jonas is the undeniable leader with Primoz being humiliated and forced out. I really Love Kuss but if he isn’t satisfied with going back to his Super-Domestique role he just might be next. Especially with all the young talent interested in riding for Jumbo in the future.

@@jackhank5000 Thanks for your reply. And yeah nah, that’s a far cry from how TJV works.

Our pleasure!

thanks!

He was no more gifted a Grand Tour than Jonas and Primoz were gifted the Giro and Tour de France. The unique circumstance was that Sepp rode better than the others.

After Primos leaving Jumbo, I feel like Sepp is the man to go with on Giro and/or Vuelta. I would bet on him for Giro 2024. Remco and Primos got a competition in him now.

@@mfr440 that's a remarkably delusional way of seeing things

narh not jonas. give me a exsample. give me a stage

Correction: he chose to be a super domestique rather than the GC leader he was contracted to potentially be. His own preference and decision. He may be changing that decision now, but let’s be clear that no one but Sepp himself has denied him what you call “his rightful place” in the past.

TJV contracted Sepp as a potential GC rider. After spending a couple of years doing what you describe here, he chose to be a superdomestique instead in no small part cos he hated the TT bike as well as the mental pressure of leadership. Looks like he found the confidence to deal with the latter, but not yet an ambition to lead strong enough to make him want to go all out for TTs again. Mathieu Heijboer, TJV’s TT materials & training specialist as well as Sepp’s personal trainer, helped Sepp to believe in GC Kuss from Week 1 of this Vuelta. Throughout the tour they repeatedly exchanged brief texts to that effect, for example, with just the four words “Sepp Kuss, different rider”. Heijboer was also the trainer who went through those earlier TT experiments with Sepp, so it’ll be interesting to see if he, with intimate knowledge of what happened then, can help Sepp change how he feels about TT bikes too. One of the problems, however, is that Sepp’s body is far less suited to TTs than are the bodies of the top GC riders, so even with lots of dedication he’ll never reach the level of Jonas, Remco, Pogi and Primož in this discipline. But who knows, if he decides to give it another go he just may become good enough to also win the Giro.

thanks! ;) glad you liked it.

don't worry, just dead space was taken out and some filler words during our coversation.

TJV did not mess up. Much less do they let media or fans without a clue dictate what they do. And they supported Sepp, a guy they hired in 2017 as a potential GC rider, throughout this Vuelta. Unfortunately few people in the English speaking part of the world seem to want to understand how the TJV collective actually works even though this information is widely available. Something that says much more about these people than about TJV.

@@rdklkje13 how does it work or what i have missed?

They got the team behind Sepp right, including roglic. And if they would have done so from the beginning everyone would be complaining about gifting. So they did fine given the difficult circumstances.

yeah, I wish we could have had more time. we talked about it after i stopped the camera, though!

@@FloBikes Can you share his thoughts? Love your channel!

And part of that was the interviewer all but instructing him to train on TT, as if Sepp wouldn't know some TT work would help if he wants to seriously contend for GC.

%100

🤣🤣🍻

Let’s say it again: it’s not about the BEST rider. Tons of races have been won by taking advantage of racing conditions.

Total rubbish. You obviously don't know much about cycling

Probably, but there’s always the possibility of a mechanical or crash... who would have bailed out VG? Primos - doubt it...

@@rockhopper01Racing conditions? It was simple team dynamics…

True Jonas would have won if he went for it

@richardwallace133, SO you're saying remco needs help from tour officials to win! That sounds about right to me. That and having is main rivals crash. Maybe it can happen.

The mountain stages are brutal... They clearly had a few people in mind, including Remco. Feels fair and square to me.

If anything 23 was even more aligned with Remco. So much so, people found it a huge opportunity loss that he skipped.

Ah, I forgot: although not impossible, based on how TJV operates I very much doubt that their GC Kuss merch was designed overnight after stage 20. So that’s yet another expression of the team support for his victory (and themselves, sure, but not just that).

They’ve always supported him. They contracted him as a potential GC rider, he chose to be a super-domestique instead, mostly cos he hated TT bikes and the pressures of leadership. They also supported him throughout this Vuelta, but unfortunately much gets lost in translation. Particularly in the US where individualistically minded people seem to have an extraordinarily hard time understanding how the TJV collective actually works. But also in the English speaking part of the world more broadly. It’s very strange to observe from the outside how people comepletely misunderstand what’s going on and, like Gregor here, insist on continuing to misunderstand things apparently no matter how much information about how TJV works is available out there 🙄🤔

Why don’t you share other information we are missing. TJV wasn’t controlling the actions of the riders till the very end. That was very clear.

too many questions, too little time.

Lol 🤣

Recently he joined TdF Prudential Singapore Criterium

You don't think he is going to get a strong or a very strong team support for a Grand Tour Race? Primo could not win a Grand Tour without a strong team and obviously Sepp.

They won all three grand Tours this year, I think they know a thing or two about teamwork. There will always be minor conflict within top teams but ultimately, they get it done.

Best team with best leaders in Vingegaard and Roglic get the best helper, which is Kuss. In case of Vingegaard joining some B team and Kuss would be the helper of anyone but Pogačar, my money would always be on Vingegaard. Domestiques don't choose, but riding in enough bike races will make them realise that that is what they do best. Sepp happens to be the very best domestique. Who got a never seen before Christmas gift. A leader? I would love to see a successful transformation into that. All the best