Sepp Kuss: I’m not delusional when it comes to the Tour de France and working for Vingegaard

Sepp Kuss has clarified that although the Tour de France is a major target on his race programme this year, he will support two-time winner and defending champion Jonas Vingegaard and not ride as a fully-fledged team leader.

In a recent interview, the American stated that he would prepare for the Tour de France as a leader, but the 2023 Vuelta a España winner elaborated on those comments at the start of stage 1 of the Volta ao Algarve, adding that while he was ambitious, he was fully prepared to sacrifice his race for his Danish teammate.

“I just want to do my best. Last year I realised that I could be up there with the best guys while not thinking at all about the GC. Now if you look at teams like UAE, or other teams, they have a lot of leaders, and you always need a second guy who can go with multiple cards from a strategic standpoint in the first and second week. In the third week, it’s just about the legs. It never hurts but I’m not delusional. I see the headlines saying ‘Sepp wants to win the Tour’ but everyone wants to win the Tour. Even a sprinter wants to win the Tour but I’m also not delusional or under-ambitious,” Kuss told GCN and Cyclingnews in Portugal.

Read more: ‘The gravel is really fun’ – Sepp Kuss shows new verve at Clásica Jaén

The 29-year-old effectively meant that he would aim to race in a similar vein to Adam Yates, who supported Tadej Pogačar in last year’s Tour and ended up with a stage win, a spell in yellow and third overall in the race. It’s prudent that Visma-Lease a Bike have a plan B should Vingegaard falter through illness or injury, but when push comes to shove it’s the Dane who will be the most protected and supported Visma rider.

“Everyone has to look for a headline but people just read a headline, and then they think I don’t have my head on my shoulders, but if I say that I just want to help then people say I don’t have ambition and if I say I want to try for myself then people say I only won the Vuelta because of a race situation. That’s true but I also have to shoot for something myself. It’s just a matter of if you're good or not, then it’s less complicated but I’ve no illusions about what I’m not capable of.”

Read more: Sepp Kuss: I have to go into the Tour de France knowing I can win

Leadership at the Vuelta a España later in the year is a far more likely scenario for the American. He won last year’s race through a combination of strong legs, a strong team, and a willingness within the Dutch camp to eventually ease back on the ambitions of both Vingegaard and former teammate Primož Roglič.

“I think the Vuelta for me is a bit more defined,” Kuss said when asked about his Vuelta challenge for this year.

“It’s better for me if Jonas is there, for example, from a pressure standpoint, but it’s a race that fits more with my style. It’s a bit less hectic than the Tour, so it fits a bit better for me.”

Kuss has started the season in fine form, picking up sixth in the Clásica Jaén one-day race. He will temper his own ambitions at the Volta ao Algarve and work for teammate Jan Tratnik before building up towards the rest of the spring and early summer targets. Strade Bianche has been added to his calendar, with a surprising phase of stage races crammed into March and April.

“I’m definitely happy. The races I’ve done so far, including this one, aren’t necessarily the ones for me but it’s always good when I can feel good in different styles of race. It’s also pretty fun and less expectations going into races. I’m just seeing how it goes,” he said.

“For this week, I’m mainly going to help out Jan. He’s in good shape and he deserves all the help, and then I’ll just get a feel for the racing. It’ll be good for me to do a time trial, and see how it goes there. Now I’ll do Strade Bianche, then Catalunya, Basque Country and then nothing for a while until the Dauphiné and then the Tour and Vuelta. That should be it.”

Read more: Sepp Kuss: I think it's better for everybody that Roglič is on a different team

The Volta a Catalunya could be Kuss’ first leadership mission of the year, but much will depend on the form of potential co-leader Cian Uijtdebroeks, who is targetting the Giro d’Italia in May.

“It could go either way. I think that at Catalunya it will be Cian and I. He’s in really good shape going into the Giro and we just need to decide how it goes. We’re not going there as the absolute favourites but we can both try for it. Then at the Tour I’ll help out Jonas, I won’t lose time on purpose but I’ll help him out and then we’ll see for the Vuelta,” he said.

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