When Visma-Lease a Bike launched their 2025 season in the plush surroundings of a five-star hotel on Spain’s Costa Blanca this month, they talked up winning the “holy grail” of the Tour de France once again, declared an intention to be “the number one team in the world”, and presented their stars: Jonas Vingegaard, Wout van Aert, Marianne Vos, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Matteo Jorgenson, Simon Yates and Olav Kooij. Big hitters, guaranteed winners, each and every one of them. There was one figure conspicuous by his absence, though: Sepp Kuss.
Kept away from the flashing cameras and the nearly one hundred journalists who were packed into the luxury spa hotel, Kuss’s name was barely even mentioned during an hour-long team presentation, and when it was, it was in reference to him forming part of Vingegaard’s Tour de France team. The winner of the 2023 Vuelta a España, Kuss’s personal ambitions appear to have been parked, that silly little experiment that wasn’t even supposed to happen and brought with it as much controversy as it did glory sidelined.
When Kuss did appear, walking in unannounced, he found himself crowded by journalists. He’s still a fan favourite, as much Spain’s hijo as he is Durango’s son, but retreating back into the comparative quietness of his domestique sanctuary is how he actually prefers it. It’s not that GC Kuss is definitely no more, but it’s looking that way. “It's a role I’ve never really been in aside from the Vuelta last year [where he finished 14th] and even in the 2023 Vuelta, it was never remotely on my radar to be a leader in a Grand Tour, but it turned out that way,” the 30-year-old said. “I wouldn’t say upfront I am looking for leadership in a Grand Tour or looking for the opposite.
“For me, if there are opportunities that come along the way, I’ll take them as I have in the past, but also in the past, whenever I’ve performed, it’s never been in a way that upfront it was known that I’d be the one to perform. I take every race in my stride and see where I can get an opportunity. I’m not looking to overtake anybody within the team. We have some super good riders, and I want to help them first, and then we’ll see what I can get out of it for myself.”
Kuss was never really in contention to defend his title at the Vuelta last year, while he also missed out on the Tour after failing to recover in time from a Covid infection – his forced exclusion was felt by Vingegaard. He did, though, win the queen stage and the GC at the Vuelta a Burgos, a demonstration, if it was needed, that he can be trusted with leadership roles.
But staying out of the limelight is more his style. “It’s more and more comfortable for sure, and there are less expectations from the outside on you,” Kuss, who recently became a father, said. “For myself, I’ve always had the same expectations and motivations regardless, but for the kind of person that I am, I’d rather be more out of the spotlight. It makes it easier. For guys like Jonas and Wout, it’s not easy having that constant pressure and expectation, but different people handle it differently. It’s hard to say how it affected me. It was something new and totally different. Going into it, it’s easy to say it won’t affect me, but for every rider, it does, and it’s just a matter of experience and also knowing yourself better and how you can deal with it.”
Assuming the job of super-domestique, teeing Vingegaard up for his next battle with Tadej Pogačar is Kuss’s preference. “It’s a role I really like, and it’s a role that’s a lot easier than being a leader in a race. I think it’s a role that I can do quite well and do it comfortably and enjoy it.”
The signing of Yates, as well as the development of his countryman Matteo Jorgenson, means that the responsibility in the mountains of the Tour no longer rests on Kuss’s shoulders. Both Visma and UAE now have equivalent superteams, GC riders in their own right repackaged as willing and obedient servants. “To make a difference in the mountains now you need a rider like him who can really accelerate at the right moments,” Kuss said of Yates. “You don’t make a difference by just riding at a hard pace. The level is now so high across the board that you need specific riders for specific moments.”
Kuss was part of Vingegaard’s two Tour victories but was also on the losing side when Pogačar claimed his first two. Who’ll come out on top this summer? “It’ll be really exciting,” Kuss predicted. “I think Jonas can take a lot of confidence from last year’s Tour, getting there with less-than-ideal preparation and doing a really amazing performance. We know how good Pogačar and the other guys are, but Jonas is really focused on doing his best, and as a team, we’re focused on seeing what we can do differently. How can we do better?”
All Kuss wants from himself is consistency – and ideally, the same legs he had in 2023. “The main objectives are the Grand Tours. I want to be at my best in those two races,” he said. “I want to be more consistent, stay healthy, and have good luck. Nowadays, in cycling, you need each day and each week to build on because if you miss a little bit, you notice it immediately in the races unless you have crazy talent like some guys.”
