After multiple crashes the last few stages, 🇺🇸 Sepp Kuss manages to win the third stage of #VueltaBurgos 🇪🇸, on top of Lagunas de Neila! 🔥 🥈 Lorenzo Fortunato 🥉 Jefferson Cepeda
Here he is! A relieved Sepp Kuss shows his Vuelta form and gives Visma | Lease a Bike a very welcome boost
CyclingWednesday, 07 August 2024 at 20:40
Sepp Kuss won the third stage of the Tour of Burgos. The rider from Visma | Lease a Bike was the best climber on the Lagunas de Neila and arrived solo at the finish of the final climb. Kuss is now the new leader of the race, as sprinter Caleb Ewan had to drop out early.
The day after the nasty crashes, the peloton faced a tough challenge. On Tuesday, there had already been significant climbing in Spain, but Wednesday’s stage was even more demanding. The riders had to tackle four climbs, including two first-category ones: the Alto de Rozavientos and the final climb to Lagunas de Neila. The finish was at over 1700 meters altitude, making a change in the general classification almost certain.
Breakaway with Bol and Vinokourov shapes early phase of the stage
Four riders broke away at the start of the stage. They were Dutch rider Jetse Bol (Burgos-BH), known for his many breakaway attempts in past Vueltas, Kazakh Nicolas Vinokourov (Astana Qazaqstan), German Gomez (Polti-Kometa), and Alex Diaz (Caja Rural). They built a maximum lead of three and a half minutes over the peloton. However, they were merely a prelude to the final phase of the race, where the general classification contenders took over.
Read more below the photo.
Jetse Bol proved himself the strongest of the breakaway riders .
On the penultimate climb, Visma | Lease a Bike and DSM-Firmenich PostNL began to increase the pace, leading to a swift downfall of the breakaway group. The purple jersey wearer, Caleb Ewan, had to drop back. Jetse Bol was the last of the breakaway riders to hold out on the first of two long, challenging climbs. With 23 kilometers to go, his efforts came to an end, partly due to the relentless work of fellow Dutchman Robert Gesink. It was clear that the Dutch team had a plan, either with Sepp Kuss or Cian Uijtdebroeks.
Visma | Lease a Bike aims for victory on final climb, Kuss shows Vuelta form
A notable victim of Gesink’s solo effort? Antonio Tiberi! The Italian from Bahrain Victorious was clearly not in top Vuelta form and had to drop off in the final kilometer. He wasn’t the only one; the peloton quickly thinned out. Even the injured Nairo Quintana and Valentin Paret-Peintre had to abandon at this stage. As the final climb began, INEOS Grenadiers took the initiative, working at the front for Thymen Arensman.
However, it took a while for many riders to be dropped on the final climb. Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe also put in a strong effort, but there were still about thirty riders left with three kilometers to go. When the steep final kilometers approached, Thymen Arensman surprisingly fell behind, and Cian Uijtdebroeks accelerated. Kuss followed his teammate and stayed in contention. Initially, Victor Lafay and Jefferson Cepeda made their moves, but another burst of speed from Kuss followed.
It had been a long time since we had seen Kuss accelerate like this, but he managed to do it. The remaining climbers were dropped, except for the tenacious Cepeda. In the final kilometer, Kuss’s pure climbing ability shone through, and the gap gradually widened. At the finish, after a challenging 2024 so far, Kuss was finally able to celebrate. The American crossed the line solo and will wear the leader’s jersey tomorrow. Cepeda finished third, with Lorenzo Fortunato making a late surge to take second place in the stage.
Results stage 3 Tour of Burgos 2024
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
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Latest Comments
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024
- This is not a gravel race. UCI fail, from the surface they are on to team tactics. In what country was the first "gravel race" in what country is the most popular gravel race? Go with the race model that created the discipline.
Barnes127411-10-2024 - And don't forget he has now won 4 of the big 10 races (Grand tours, Monuments and WC/OG) in one year with a chance to make that 5. (5 has only been done once before)Joostmehrtens05-10-2024