Sepp Kuss

Sepp Kuss (born September 13, 1994) is an American cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Team Jumbo–Visma.[3]

Sepp Kuss
Kuss at the 2017 Tour of Alberta
Personal information
NicknameThe Durango Kid
Born (1994-09-13) September 13, 1994
Durango, Colorado
Height180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight61 kg (134 lb)
Team information
Current teamTeam Jumbo–Visma
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeClimber
Amateur team
2016Gateway Harley Davidson / Trek
Professional teams
2016–2017Rally Cycling
2018–LottoNL–Jumbo[1][2]
Major wins
Grand Tours
Vuelta a España
1 individual stage (2019)

Stage races

Tour of Utah (2018)

Career

Kuss started out in mountain bike racing as a junior. He then went to the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado and won 2 races at the Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals in 2014. In 2015, Kuss began to race on the road, where he quickly found his footing. At the end of 2015, Kuss won yet another Collegiate MTB title for the CU Buffaloes. Kuss began the 2016 season racing for the amateur Gateway Harley Davidson / Trek team. His first breakout result was a surprise win on a summit finish stage in the Redlands Bicycle Classic. After that, Kuss finished 4th at the Mogollon stage at the Tour of the Gila UCI 2.2 Stage race. Kuss had an excellent showing at Collegiate Road Nationals while racing for the University of Colorado that year. His results earned him a full-season contract with Rally Cycling the following year, having joined the team earlier in 2016. At Rally, Kuss had many impressive results that caught the eye of LottoNL–Jumbo, where he signed an initial two-year contract for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.[4]

In August 2018, he was named in the startlist for the 2018 Vuelta a España.[5] In May 2019, he was named in the startlist for the 2019 Giro d'Italia.[6] He was named to the start list of the 2019 Vuelta a España riding in support of pre-race favorite Primož Roglič. On stage 15, Kuss was able to get into the day’s breakaway and with 7 kilometers to go launched an attack and soloed to an impressive stage win by 39 seconds over the surviving breakaway riders.[7]

In August 2020, he was named in the start list for the 2020 Tour de France.[8] Once again he rode in support of Roglič who was one of the primary favorites to win the Tour. Together with Tom Dumoulin, Kuss supported Roglič through the 2nd and 3rd weeks as he defended the yellow jersey through the high mountains. He finished 15th overall in the 2020 Tour de France, proving he could ride with the best climbers in the world. It was the highest overall placing for an American since Andrew Talansky in 2015. Following the disappointment of the final time trial in the 2020 Tour de France, which saw Roglic lose his lead in the general classification to Tadej Pogačar, Kuss noted that Roglič kept the spirits of the entire team high by saying, "...that's how sports can be," to which Kuss commented, "[h]e had a really good outlook on the situation."[9]

Kuss again rode in support of Roglič in the 2020 Vuelta a Espana, proving his loyalty by sacrificing his personal ambitions to shepherd Roglič up the slopes of the Alto de l'Angrilu.[10] Despite this he still placed highly in the King of the Mountains competition and finished 16th overall, but more importantly his teammate won the race for the 2nd year in a row.

Major results
2014
National Collegiate MTB Championships
1st Cross–country
1st Short Track Cross–country
2015
1st Cross–country, National Collegiate MTB Championships
2016
1st Stage 2 Redlands Bicycle Classic
6th Overall Tour de Beauce
1st Stage 2
2017
2nd Overall Tour of Alberta
6th Overall Colorado Classic
8th Overall Tour of the Gila
9th Overall Tour of Utah
2018
1st Overall Tour of Utah
1st Mountains classification
1st Stages 2, 5 & 6
2019
1st Stage 15 Vuelta a España
5th Japan Cup
2020
8th Overall Tour de la Provence
10th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné
1st Stage 5
Vuelta a España
Held after Stage 1

Grand Tour general classification results timeline
Grand Tour 2018 2019 2020
Giro d'Italia — 56 —
Tour de France — — 15
Vuelta a España 65 29 16
Legend
— Did not compete
IP In progress

References
  1. "Cheery Christmas for ambitious Team Jumbo-Visma". Team Jumbo–Visma. Team Oranje Road BV. December 21, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  2. "Team Jumbo-Visma 2020 roster presented in Amsterdam". Bianchi. F.I.V. Edoardo Bianchi S.p.A. December 20, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  3. "Jumbo-Visma". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  4. "Sepp Kuss signs with LottoNL-Jumbo". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. September 20, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  5. "2018: 73rd Vuelta a España: Start List". Pro Cycling Stats. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  6. "2019: 102nd Giro d'Italia: Start List". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  7. "Vuelta a España stage 15: American Sepp Kuss takes stunning solo victory, Primoz Roglic retains lead". VeloNews. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  8. "107th Tour de France: Start List". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  9. "Sepp Kuss on Jumbo Vismas Tour de France Finale". Velo News Fred Dreir. September 25, 2020.
  10. "Sepp Kuss stays loyal at Vuelta a España to help Primož Roglič limit losses on the Angliru". VeloNews.com. November 1, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
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