Sepp Kuss suffers another blow at the Vuelta a España after crash with Pogačar: 'But I stayed positive'

Visma | Lease a Bike suffered a stinging defeat in Stage 9 of the Vuelta a España. The Dutch team started the day with Sepp Kuss in fourth place in the general classification, but the American lost 1.44 minutes to stage winner Enric Mas and dropped three spots in the overall standings.

On Sunday morning, ahead of Stage 9, we ambitiously listed Kuss among the seven contenders for the overall victory in the Vuelta, but after a serious crash on Stage 8, we might have known better. Although the climber got back on his bike quickly, he was caught up in Tadej Pogačar’s high-speed crash along with teammate Ben Tulett.

As a result of the crash, the Slovenian rider from UAE Emirates-XRG had to withdraw; Kuss got away with just some scrapes and, by his own account, felt just fine during Stage 9. “I actually felt pretty good, considering that the crash happened at high speed. I knew it wouldn’t be ideal, but I stayed positive and I can be happy that I felt pretty okay,” he told Eurosport.

Still, the time lost must have hurt. Kuss had to drop out on the 22-kilometer-long final climb, while Felix Gall’s domestiques, riding for Decathlon CMA CGM, were still pushing hard at the front on the less steep sections. “Decathlon rode a very fast climb. It wasn’t very steep until the final stretch, and they have a very good team. That really worked in their favor.”

Tadej Pogačar abandoned the Vuelta a España after a crash in which he suddenly lost control near the front of the peloton; on-site observers and Eurosport pointed to a large rock by the roadside as the likely cause. His exit jeopardizes planned starts at the World and European Championships.

Earlier, on stage 7, Pogačar attacked late on the final climb after Felix Gall’s move, saying he focused on the general classification while conserving team support. Enric Mas, second overall at 3:50, described Pogačar as frustrated and motivated, and Pogačar warned that stage 9 would be among the toughest. Read more