Teams & Riders Sepp Kuss is the next Sepp Kuss thread

[red_flanders]

Out for the Tour with COVID from the Dauphine according to reports. Explains his form a bit I guess? Haven’t been paying that much attention.

 

[tobydawq]

Out for the Tour with COVID from the Dauphine according to reports. Explains his form a bit I guess? Haven’t been paying that much attention.

He has probably not had covid all year...

 

[Juan Pelota]

What a travesty.

 

[FroomeWagon]

He has probably not had covid all year...

I think he had it before the Dauphine started. I saw an article before the race started where the DS for Visma said he didn't know what type of results he expected out of Kuss because he had been recently sick and unable to train at the level he had hoped.

I only recently learned (maybe it was common knowledge) that he raced with it at last years Giro

Jumbo-Visma reportedly deliberated on how to handle Kuss’s own case, but decided to leave him in the race, apparently due to the fact that he was deemed not especially contagious. He was nonetheless kept isolated from teammates, and the docuseries apparently shows him talking tactics with Roglič via videochat.

Staying at the race in support of Roglič, Kuss proved especially valuable when he helped the Slovenian keep the gap to an attacking João Almeida and Geraint Thomas manageable on stage 16. Roglič went on to take over the race lead in the time trial on the penultimate stage, ultimately winning the Giro d’Italia.

https://escapecollective.com/sepp-kuss-says-that-he-had-covid-19-during-last-years-giro/

 

[SHAD0W93]

Better to focus on the future. That is GC Kuss was created at Vuelta 2023 and i see no reason on why he wouldn't co-lead the Tour 2024 team, considering all the circumstances involved.

Visma found some reasons

 

[Potomac]

Hopefully he can be up to his best for the Vuelta.

 

[Oldermanish]

I think he had it before the Dauphine started. I saw an article before the race started where the DS for Visma said he didn't know what type of results he expected out of Kuss because he had been recently sick and unable to train at the level he had hoped.

I only recently learned (maybe it was common knowledge) that he raced with it at last years Giro



https://escapecollective.com/sepp-kuss-says-that-he-had-covid-19-during-last-years-giro/

I got Omicron after a trip. I was stuck in the house for a solid week and started indoor riding after. It was torture and a half hour effort was all I could manage for weeks. When I did get outdoors it wasn't better for more than a month since we live at altitude. 3 months of work to get back to a base level was the final investment.

 

[shadowrider]

I got Omicron after a trip. I was stuck in the house for a solid week and started indoor riding after. It was torture and a half hour effort was all I could manage for weeks. When I did get outdoors it wasn't better for more than a month since we live at altitude. 3 months of work to get back to a base level was the final investment.

Thank you for your testimony, against the flow.
Too many members of this forum minimize the effect that Covid has on the health of people and specifically top athletes. Which should never be allowed with some common sense and/or scientific background. Continuing to participate in competitions/stages with Covid is extremely unwise. Just because the symptoms sometimes remain minor does not mean that riders and teams should take the risk. Last year, Jumbo-Visma, Roglic and Kuss took the risk during the Giro. It ended well. Now VLAB allowed Kuss to continue riding with Covid (which he probably already had before the start) during the Dauphiné. With all its consequences. No Tour. Possibly even below level for the rest of the season.

Several riders (from different teams) have been performing below their level for years now because they have not rested enough during and after a Covid infection. But because there is a kind of omerta about this, it is not communicated openly.

 

[Miha81]

Does this mean we could see him defending Vuelta title? I guess there is enought time for him to get in shape?

 

[Peter von]

Does this mean we could see him defending Vuelta title? I guess there is enought time for him to get in shape?

That was my thought. But can he do it without two GTs in his legs?

I think that is what he and the team will go for.

 

[AmRacer]

That was my thought. But can he do it without two GTs in his legs?

I think that is what he and the team will go for.

If Jonas isn't good enough to win TdF, he might do the Vuelta.
Poor Kuss.

 

[Cookster15]

I got Omicron after a trip. I was stuck in the house for a solid week and started indoor riding after. It was torture and a half hour effort was all I could manage for weeks. When I did get outdoors it wasn't better for more than a month since we live at altitude. 3 months of work to get back to a base level was the final investment.

I think you were unlucky. I've had Covid twice. Was like a bad cold - maybe sick for three days. No noticeable lingering effects. I think what I experienced was closer to the norm based upon everyone else I know. But for a pro like Sep Kuss it would be better to err on the side of caution. This is their career. So I agree with @shadowrider .

 

[CyclistAbi]

So they went ahead with the Tour team announcement and everything and now suddenly Sepp is out and is replaced by a rider that never did a GT before? Even saying something in the lines of they found an adequate replacement ...

To me all this is becoming a bit too far stretched.

 

[Nick2413]

So they went ahead with the Tour team announcement and everything and now suddenly Sepp is out and is replaced by a rider that never did a GT before? Even saying something in the lines of they found an adequate replacement ...

To me all this is becoming a bit too far stretched.

It does seem something is going on other than basic illness. Unknown if he can even be back in good shape for Vuelta.

 

[CyclistAbi]

It does seem something is going on other than basic illness. Unknown if he can even be back in good shape for Vuelta.

Sure he can but what team will he have and most importantly will he be declared a team leader?

 

[Potomac]

Sure he can but what team will he have and most importantly will he be declared a team leader?

He will wear the #1 dossard, if nothing else

 

[Peter von]

If Jonas isn't good enough to win TdF, he might do the Vuelta.
Poor Kuss.

yeah it's possible. I could see him doing the Tour undercooked or overcooked could lead to him needing to take it easy the rest of the year, but at the same time it could also be ideal for him to do the Vuelta.

 

[Unchained]

I think Visma is doing the right thing, after all Covid and Covid variants have been around forever. Kuss is nearing what has to be his last year, or near retirement. I totally see that with the extensive data w training though Covid in ultra endurance athletes like Sepp Kuss I can see why they would choose to try and just ignore it and keep on, and the variant in Kuss probably poses little danger to his teammates and training staff. Bike racers don't get out much so whatever anti bodies Kuss is carrying are probably not sophisticated, after all people are acting like he was in Mallorca, Colorado, California, Andorra, France, if I was in Visma management I would have done exactly the same thing and told Sepp Kuss to risk it all, Dauphine is just way way too important in the cycling scheme of things.
And I saw some scattered articles here and there about " long Covid" whatever that even is, sounds like some woke whimp term made up by a bunch of marshmallows

 

[Nick2413]

Kuss is nearing what has to be his last year, or near retirement.

He’s only 29, he should have a good handful of years left if he wants it.

I really think whatever illness he has or had obscures the bigger picture that his season has been a bit odd and form just isn’t there.

 

[ManicJack]

He’s only 29, he should have a good handful of years left if he wants it.

He is under contract through 2027

 

[shadowrider]

I think Visma is doing the right thing, after all Covid and Covid variants have been around forever. Kuss is nearing what has to be his last year, or near retirement. I totally see that with the extensive data w training though Covid in ultra endurance athletes like Sepp Kuss I can see why they would choose to try and just ignore it and keep on, and the variant in Kuss probably poses little danger to his teammates and training staff. Bike racers don't get out much so whatever anti bodies Kuss is carrying are probably not sophisticated, after all people are acting like he was in Mallorca, Colorado, California, Andorra, France, if I was in Visma management I would have done exactly the same thing and told Sepp Kuss to risk it all, Dauphine is just way way too important in the cycling scheme of things.
And I saw some scattered articles here and there about " long Covid" whatever that even is, sounds like some woke whimp term made up by a bunch of marshmallows

Long covid is what hundred of thousands of people on this planet experience after having been ill from covid. For months, some even for 4 years. Fatigue, weakness, breathing problems. It is a largely "hidden" healthproblem. Of course, it's a minority of the covidpatients. Some have recovered since. Not having rested after covid is not the only reason of long covid, but it does increase the risk.

 

[Oldermanish]

He’s only 29, he should have a good handful of years left if he wants it.

I really think whatever illness he has or had obscures the bigger picture that his season has been a bit odd and form just isn’t there.

Unchained has an interestingly detailed perspective. You should talk to him directly as he knows stuff.

 

[Unchained]

At least people read the post and didn't see how absolutely idiotic it was to send a sick Sepp to Dauphine. Your employer thinking it's a good idea for you to take the team bus and race w Covid is utterly crazy. Kuss has many productive years of racing at a winning level, and probably even more as a super solid domestique.
Any manager that said " let's wait and see how your Covid clears up" days before the hardest race, 3 weeks long is a money grubbing foolish yes man.
Kuss confirmed ill at the beginning of the month, so influenza or Covid, 5-6 weeks in you should not be starting.. This is something you would expect from Froome career decision makers not for a rising Sepp Kuss. If this is Visma version of low risk behavior, the crashes should not bother them.

 

[Nick2413]

At least people read the post and didn't see how absolutely idiotic it was to send a sick Sepp to Dauphine. Your employer thinking it's a good idea for you to take the team bus and race w Covid is utterly crazy. Kuss has many productive years of racing at a winning level, and probably even more as a super solid domestique.
Any manager that said " let's wait and see how your Covid clears up" days before the hardest race, 3 weeks long is a money grubbing foolish yes man.
Kuss confirmed ill at the beginning of the month, so influenza or Covid, 5-6 weeks in you should not be starting.. This is something you would expect from Froome career decision makers not for a rising Sepp Kuss. If this is Visma version of low risk behavior, the crashes should not bother them.

Nothing wrong with competing if the illness isn’t serious. Just needs to be on a case by case basis. If it’s a bad case then makes sense to pull out but if it’s presenting as a mild cold it’s a non-issue. Pogacar just won the Giro with illness, could’ve been anything, just follow the common sense principle.

 

[Jumbo Visma Fan :)]

Won today at Burgos with ease