Race day disappointment: Vingegaard and Kuss fall short at Clasica San Sebastián

For the American climber, the lesser result was understandable. He had just completed the five-day Tour of Burgos the day before, winning the overall classification. "It was a tough day," Kuss remarked afterwards on the team website. "We took responsibility as a team and did that excellently. A result didn't materialize, but we can be pleased with how we approached the race. In a finale like this, you need to have top legs. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case today. Now I'm going to take some rest. This will allow me to prepare optimally for the start of the Vuelta. I'm looking forward to it," said the climber.

Vingegaard also could not play a significant role. This was somewhat surprising since the Dane had said before the race that he felt well-rested and had trained well after the Tour de France. The team did not provide a reason for his poor performance. However, Vingegaard had a very challenging preparation for the Tour de France, having suffered severe injuries in a crash during the Tour of the Basque Country. After a race against time, he made it to the Tour and secured an impressive second place in the overall standings behind an unbeatable Tadej Pogacar, also winning a stage.

Team director Marc Reef doesn't want to focus solely on the poor result in his retrospective. He is pleased with much of his riders' performance. "We had a good plan, and we were ready. As agreed beforehand, we took our responsibility in the peloton. Among others, Milan Vader and Julien Vermote did excellent work to keep the breakaway within reach. Then Thomas Gloag and Dylan van Baarle rode strongly on the climb of the Jaizkibel. On the Erlaitz, we wanted to continue our plan, but during the climb, our leaders simply didn't have the legs. It's unfortunate, but that's sometimes part of it, and we have to accept that."