Sepp Kuss celebrated with Durango homecoming after Vuelta a España victory

Jumbo-Visma's Sepp Kuss was welcomed back to his hometown of Durango, Colorado, on Thursday with a massive celebration of his Vuelta a España victory.

Multiple thousands of 'Durangatangs' – yes, this is actually what people from Durango call themselves – crowded around the stage at Buckley Park for the speeches, bike parade and over two hours of meeting and greeting.

It was a marathon, not a sprint, for Kuss, his family, and the legion of people hoping to give their congratulations.

Read more: The making of Sepp Kuss: Durango, mountain bikes, and the lasting love of letting it rip

Logan Jones-Wilkins

People of all generations were out to celebrate Sepp Kuss's Vuelta win

While Kuss seemed to be at ease soaking it all in, with his attitude apparently far more comfortable then when he was embroiled in the battle for the overall crown at the Vuelta with his own two teammates, he did describe the experience as "surreal".

The fact that he had a parade for one of his accomplishments in front of the people who have backed him since he was a kid was not a dream; it was all still something of a happy accident.

“It's definitely surreal, but at the same time it's not a dream come true because it's something honestly I never dreamed of or expected,” Kuss told GCN as the day was winding down.

“Obviously during the race it became more real, but I always tried to keep myself from that thought because so much can happen. It's not that I didn't have confidence in myself but it was something I never dreamed of so I never set myself up for what I accomplished.”

Logan Jones-Wilkins

While Sepp Kuss was the star of the show, the Durango Devo juniors were definitely the supporting cast

In his Vuelta victory, Kuss always embraced his hometown, especially with things like his nickname: 'the Eagle of Durango'. Even on the final podium, Kuss gave a shout out to Durango for what the city means to him.

A big part of that is how much Kuss knows the city, loves the job he does, and how much that is responsible for him finding the passion for cycling in the way he has.

Read more: ‘He’s a role model to all the young Americans’ - peloton compatriots react to Sepp Kuss’ Vuelta a España victory

“People just think Durango is a smart town far from big cities in the mountains but they don't really know what Durango is,” Kuss said. “That, you can’t really explain in one speech; you would really need to write a book about it.

“But I think I am always thankful for Durango and what it has brought me just through the fact of living here. By virtue of living in Durango you already start at an advantage because you have so many outdoors opportunities. The town is so ingrained in outdoors and it's all good people.

“I give, at the base of it all, Durango and its lifestyle full credit for where I am now.”

One of the special elements of the parade, and what made it unique, was the simple fact that there were thousands of people in Durango who genuinely knew what the Vuelta was and what the title means.

Going by the sheer number and quality of the bikes parked outside of the venue, from top-tier mountain bikes to well-loved commuter rigs, it is perhaps the only town of 20,000 people that could generate such a buzz around a Vuelta champion.

That position was certainly not lost on Mayor Melissa Youssef, who was the first of the guests to hop up on stage and begin to rally the crowd for Kuss’ moment earlier in the day.

Logan Jones-Wilkins

Durango couldn't have picked a better day for their bash, with the leafs golden and the weather warm. Here was Mayor Youssef speaking to the crowd

“This is our NBA, we are known for our outdoor recreation, cyclists are big in Durango, so this is our hometown hero and this is what we celebrate. The event really embodies the nature of our community very well,” Mayor Youssef told GCN after speaking to the crowd.

“We were inundated with emails on the need to have a celebration. I can't tell you the number of emails back and forth that were trying to get that one point of coordination to make it happen. Once we got to that central point, it was easy to do. Of course the city of Durango was behind it, but this was a community effort.

“Sepp embodies the town so well, as you can see and hear from the talks today, it's just the love of the outdoors and passion for adventure and it's the inner drive that starts at such a young age. But it has to be fun. It's about fun first.”

For the many Durango Devo kids that were running around the park in various combinations of Sepp Kuss themed memorabilia, Durango has the fun part down. The structures, trails and environment all make that almost inescapable.

All Sepp Kuss did was show them another example of how the fun can get really really fast. Looking at the crowd and the excitement all around, it's hard to believe this will be the last of these parades in Buckley Park.