Thulsadoom

I get the feeling that Kuss doesn't particularly like the spotlight.

nomadmax 

Rat packed! Happy Birthday buddy! I'd give anything to see Sepp in a UAE jersey next year at the Tour.

GrainBrain

The jersey had chosen Kuss atop the Xorret de Catí. He has no choice but to ride his brains out.

one4smoke

Sepp needs to be very selfish the next three days. The Jumbo GC prima donnas need to take a backseat to the very unselfish rider this one time.
Seems like to me Jumbo wants JV to win it and they are just playing coy. They’ll probably make it look like there were no team orders or anything and Sepp was simply out powered in the end. Behind the scenes, they are probably telling him to just let JV go.

DLBroox

I'm not a fan of not supporting the guy in the red jersey. And I just saw a video of Kuss apologizing to Landa for racing him to the line. You can hear him say he needed the time bonus. So he obviously wants to stay in red, or he would not have challenged him for the time. To me it's a bad look to leave your race leader even if it's not the guy you thought it would be. It's not like he didn't earn it to this point.

TejanoTrackie 

Remember when Hinault said he'd work for Lemond in the next TDF, and then changed his mind when he saw the opportunity to win again ? Anyway, it's survival of the fittest when it comes to pro sports. If SK gets dropped by his teammates, then he is not the best, and does not deserve to win, regardless of what services he provided to the team leader(s) in the past.

diphthong

eff the main two jv guys. if they can't support their long-standing, best super-domestique with all they've got at this point in the season for a gc win, they are less than dogsh*t on your shoe. better support seppuku or there will be a ton of negative energy headed their way. if they don't come correct, they'll both go pavement surfing the rest of 2023 and all of 2024. tw#tw#ffles.

Jughed

Bike racing, like all pro sports, is a business first - sport second activity.

A win at the Vuelta may mean another million + on the next contract. Primroz may be looking to move in the offseason, be a #1 GC rider at TDF... coming off GT win, where on paper he beat Vingo...

What ride in their prime is going to give that up?

The reality - if SK wants to win, he has to beat the other men. If he can't beat the other men - then he doesn't deserve the win. If he wins - teams will be coming at him with $$$. If he's given the win - probably not so much.

GrainBrain

lol we were all thinking it, thanks for saying it. Was it the '21 Tour where primoz was body checked by Cobrelli "by accident" as the group was getting squeezed by a tight road? Right now GC Kuss is getting squeezed by weird power plays between Vingegaard and Roglic.

As to others saying "oh strongest rider wins" Kuss is the strongest rider! Three GTs this year, and he barely lost contact on the Angliru!! No surprise he was gapped by a super fresh primoz or in form tour champion Vingegaard!

Besides you want to talk about strongest rider in la Vuelta how about the huge rides Gesink has been doing?


We believe GC Kuss.

one4smoke

I keep hearing about yesterday, that JV and Roglic was going for a stage win. They didn’t “race” for the stage win, they just wanted time on Sepp. The only scenario where Sepp shouldn't win is if he gets dropped and Jumbo is in danger of losing the GC. if not, team tactics should be implemented.

I like what this guy said on Facebook yesterday :

"Team tactics dictate you ride for a protected leader. This is the essence of GT strategy. People calling for civil war are incorrect. You will find domestiques with talents beyond the GC rider in their arena, ie: climbing, or pulling on the flats. That's literally why they are there. They don't just ride away from their GC contender on those days. Sepp has waited for Roglic in other GT several times.. A leader needs to be chosen on the bus and a plan executed. If another team attacks and you crack, you crack, but Ayuso was dead and buried. You stay with the leader. No gifts, team cycling."

nomadmax 

Sometimes, the light at the end of the tunnel is a train.

work4bike

Interesting take from Johan

TejanoTrackie 

Well, after all the drama, JV and PR did not attack SK on the 18th stage, and he retained his lead in the GC. In fact, he gained 9 seconds on JV when he went with late attacks by Ayuso and Mas, just to make sure that he wouldn't get pimped by JV in case he changed his mind. Anyways, it looks like SK is going to win the Vuelta, and JV will get his help in next year's TDF.

GrainBrain

The jersey has spoken! Tbh I'm most worried about stage 20.

slcbob

There is a lot of hyperbole and projection here.

Things certainly came within 8 sec of tilt, but beyond that, IDK. It's a wacky business.

I wonder if Sepp will have some burgers with Bobke and Horner to celebrate Sepp-tember.

nomadmax 

Jonas and Primoz came good today, but only because of the fallout, not because of character. As far I'm concerned, the pecking order is this:

Whale sh*t
Lance Armstrong (at least you knew where you stood with him)

Below him:
Jonas Vingegaard
Primoz Roglic

Doge

I didn't really agree with the 2nd part and we already saw today's result - so moot.

But this part is exactly right and the business is entertainment. A sponsor in touch with the eye-balls want's more positive eyeballs than winning. They want a story and people who buy and think about them because of the story. Love or hate Lance he got 5X (made up number) the eyeballs than some Euro rider would have just winning. SK winning is a great story.
Both the other two have nice stories from fish market to ski jump accident. SK story from this tour is better than both and ruining that story will cost Jumbo more than a win by other than SK would. I think they figured that out - a bit late.

scottfsmith

Why all the blame? You've got a domestique leading the race. Thats not part of anyones advance team plan so I don't think you can blame anyone on JV for what they did. I thought it was good for Jonas and Primoz to challenge him, at least enough to make him show he earned it. I wonder if they eased off a bit today on stage 18 since he managed to get this far.

diphthong

let's go sepp! beware of subterfuge on stage 19 and (especially) stage 20. stage 20 looks like the (potentially) craziest stage of this year's la vuelta.

dayum, remco bringing it after that un jour sans. he's in the running to win a fourth on stage 20 as well with the overall kom. not a shabby showing for a defending champ.

joesch

Kuss started the day just eight seconds in front of Vingegaard but had the two-time Tour de France winner swap normal roles with him on the final climb, going to the front of the peloton and confirming his sentiment that he wanted Kuss to win this Vuelta, even dropping off in the final 500 metres to extend the American’s lead out to 17 seconds.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/the...elta-a-espana/

mollusk

I think that Kuss won the Vuelta by his heroic effort on the Angliru when he clawed his way back against two of the very best stage racer/climbers in the sport to keep the Rojo.

He showed that he deserved it and it isn't a gift.

I remember Lemond's first TdF victory and how American fans were disgusted with The Badger but he was really right. He needed to put Greg to the test so that it was a real victory and not a gift.

Assuming things go well tomorrow Sepp will be only the fourth American to legitimately win a Grand Tour after Andy Hampsten, Greg Lemond and Chris Horner.

I am always shocked that Chris won the Vuelta at his age.

philbob57

Who should win the Vuelta is a difficult moral question IMO. OOH, both Vingo and Roglic could be ahead of Sepp if they pushed their advantages. Also, it's really something for someone to win 2 GTs in one year, and that seems to be within JV's and PR's grasps. OTOH, would JV have won the Tour do France without Sepp's help? Would Roglic have won the Giro? I just don't know. We can't test out these what-ifs.

At the same time, it's sort of strange to see athletes reduce their performance below their max. A race sounds like it should go to the swiftest. Sometimes I think the riders should go as fast as they can every day, none of this 'team' stuff. OTOH, team results win prize money. Since the rules and the prizes incentivize team results, I'm OK with JV's apparent slowdown.

I can understand not wanting to lose. Could other winning bike racers swallowed their pride the way JV and PR have had to? OTOH, if they don't support Kuss, will any rider ever help them again unless the prospective helper can guarantee it's to their own benefit?

Interesting sport....

dstrong 

I liked in the last k yesterday when JV was leading Kuss, Ayuso and Mas(?) attacked and Jonas just flicked his elbow and moved aside to let Sepp chase them down.

BTinNYC

Good post and I tend to agree. Today's the day!

A comment; I've seen Sepp slow down and wait for Primoz and JV when he was out front and working for them.

Steel Charlie

It's only business. Management hires people who will benefit the business and would expect to task them in a way to maximize their contribution to the business.