Sepp Kuss Shifts Focus to Stage Wins After Vingegaard's Crash

Sepp Kuss and the Visma-Lease a Bike team are shifting their focus to stage wins after leader Jonas Vingegaard's untimely exit on stage 15 of the Tour de France.

What happened?

The Dane's crash-out on stage 15 has forced a full change of mentality for his teammates, with Kuss telling reporters at the time trial finish line that the focus is already switched to stage wins. "It was definitely disappointing because our part of the race was just kind of starting in that stage [where Vingegaard crashed out]," Kuss said. "and just before the last climb it happened, so it's a bit of - what could have been?"

Why it matters for Sepp Kuss

As a mountain specialist, Kuss has some potential targets in mind before the end of the race, with Alpe d'Huez and Orcières-Merlette being two of the most challenging mountain stages. "Definitely. The harder mountain stages are where I'd like to be in the break and mostly just enjoy being in the front of the race in the Tour, which is special on its own," Kuss said.

What comes next?

The American climber is eyeing opportunities on Alpe d'Huez, where a born climber like Kuss would relish the chance of success. With a double summit finish, having twice the opportunities makes for two options at individual glory on one of cycling's most emblematic ascents. "Stage 19 and 20 - we'll see. It depends on what UAE do, but we'll try every day that we can," Kuss said.

Kuss, who has nearly a decade of experience as a pro, pointed out that there are always going to be hard knocks in cycling, and over the years you get used to setbacks. "It's part of the sport. Crashes happen. And for us already with Jonas, that [Sunday] night, of course he was disappointed, but he was in a good mood. He also knows that it could have been worse; he's had worse crashes in his career. And he knows he'll be back here next year, and he's already looking forward to that.

The time trial, where Kuss finished 125th, 6:19 down on winner Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), was definitely a day to get through rather than a day to shine. But along with his teammates, the American certainly has some potential targets in mind before the end of the race.

And with Bruno Armirail's excellent performance against the clock, coming home in eighth place, the Visma-Lease a Bike team is showing increasingly strong form. "It's just about switching mentally, which you're already used to doing as a cyclist because there are always more disappointments than victories," Kuss said.

The world's biggest bike race deserves world-class coverage.