Visma | Lease a Bike shines with Affini's sprint in Burgos, but concerns linger for Sepp Kuss after crash

Visma | Lease a Bike had an uplifting first stage in the Tour of Burgos. In the stage won by Pavel Bittner, Edoardo Affini surprisingly finished fourth, but most of the attention was on Sepp Kuss, who crashed in the finale during his comeback. A press release brings positive news.

Affini's ability to sprint in Burgos was partly due to the lack of fast men in the Spanish climbing race. The Italian threw himself into the mix and turned out to be very quick. Besides Bittner, he only had to concede to Giacomo Nizzolo and Iván Garcia Cortina. "It was extremely hot today, around 35 degrees. Our riders were well-prepared for that and handled it well. Ben Tulett grabbed a bonus second in the intermediate sprint, showing his sharpness. In the finale, we wanted to try something with Edoardo. Unfortunately, the pace never slowed down, making it difficult for Edo to find his moment," said team leader Marc Reef.

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Sepp Kuss

How is Sepp Kuss after the day’s ‘minor blemish’?

That Kuss was involved in a 'minor crash' in the finale, according to Visma | Lease a Bike, was a 'slight blemish' on the day. The American had been out for a while due to a COVID-19 infection, which caused him to miss the Tour de France. Reef noted that Kuss didn’t suffer any injuries from the tumble. "Fortunately, he was able to continue quickly and is uninjured. All in all, it’s been a good day. Several of our riders are coming off a high-altitude training camp, so the first stage is always a bit of an adjustment. We’re here to prepare for the bigger goals for the rest of the cycling season."

"But we certainly aren’t starting here with less ambition," Reef emphasized, knowing that the Tour of Burgos is always a good preparation for the Vuelta a España, where we expect to see riders like Cian Uijtdebroeks, Kuss, and Wout van Aert in action. "We’re aiming for the best possible overall classification, and that’s our mission for tomorrow’s stage as well. The last kilometer is uphill, and we need to stay alert."