Sepp Kuss: 'I am now back on the level, and my confidence is back. I'm ready to defend my title in the Vuelta'

Sepp Kuss (Visma - Lease a Bike) today rode himself into the leader's jersey at the Vuelta a Burgos stage race today, showing that he's in good form and ready to defend his Vuelta a España title later this month.

Vuelta a Burgos is a five-day stage race in northern Spain. It is often considered a preparation race for the last Grand Tour of the season, which kicks off on August 17 this year. 

The 29-year-old American won the third stage of the race, the Queen Stage, which culminated with an 11-kilometre hors catégorie climb up to Neila. Kuss and teammate Cian Uijtdebroeks were delivered to the base of the climb by the team's domestiques to do what they do best. After Uijtdebroeks failed to shake off any race favourites during his attack, it was Kuss' turn to give it a go. None of the rivals managed to follow his pace, and he arrived at the mountaintop finish solo. In doing so, he claimed the colourful leader's jersey and now leads the General Classification by 13 seconds over Ecuadorian Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA).

More than just a stage win, his performance today shows that he's fully recovered from the Covid infection that saw him miss out on the Tour de France in July and on track to defend the red jersey at the Vuelta a España.

"I'm very happy with this," said Kuss post-race. "It was a tough day, partly because of the heat. On the final climb I was struggling quite a bit, but I wanted to try at least once. When I saw I had created a gap, I went as hard as I could. I'm glad it worked out and I want to thank my teammates for all the work they did." 

In June, Kuss abandoned the Critérium du Dauphiné after stage seven with Covid symptoms and failed to recover in time for the Tour. Vuelta a Burgos is his first race back and is meant to serve as the final bit of preparation for his leadership role at the Vuelta a España. He crashed on stage 2 in Burgos but showed little lingering effects during today's performance. 

"I struggled for quite a long time with the after-effects of covid. Fortunately, I am now back on the level, and my confidence is back. I'm ready to defend my title in the Vuelta," Kuss said.

Last year, Kuss became the first American male in a decade to win the Maillot Rojo and only the second American male rider to do so. After being lauded as one of the best climbers and helpers in the peloton for years, this was Kuss' first shot at his own glory and he made it count. Kuss earned the red jersey after stage eight and managed to keep it all the way to Madrid 13 stages later.

This year, he hopes to repeat that performance. 

The 2024 Vuelta a España starts on Saturday, August 17, with a time trial in Lisbon, Portugal. The race will once again be fought in the mountains, as there's just one flat stage in the entire 21 days of racing. The 2024 route is bookended by a short individual time trial on either end, but for Kuss, a master of the mountains, the mountain-heavy course does look promising. 

You'll be able to follow the race with stage-by-stage coverage right here on Cycling Weekly.