Teams & Riders Sepp Kuss is the next Sepp Kuss thread

[HelloDolly]

I understand that, HelloDolly, but surely he must have ambitions himself? I can't imagine someone chooses such a hard job just for the money. Wouldn't it make more sene to perhaps let him ride the Vuelta as captain? He should be able to hold his form until then.

He is paid to be a top mountain Dom and has ridden the Giro and the Tour as one

No way could he be in any form at the Vuelta after that ..and with Vinge and Roglic both wanting him there is no way he has anything left in the tank

I am sure if he really wanted he could ride one week stage races as a leader at JV...maybe an US race. But I dont see him jumping up and down and demanding that

What he does he does very well
That blank stare at the front of the peloton puts the fear of God into many climbers ...maybe that is reward enough ..and if a leader drops out he can go for stages....

he has chosen a better path than most

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I’d love to have his job, if I was as competent.

Idunno man, they've started actually making him do work for his pay now. The grift is over.

 

[theyoungest]

Its the money ...Kuss and Yates are better paid by a mile than anyone at AG2R
Neither can win the Tour but could do as well as anyone from 4th down on GC but they get far more money as Dom than as a leader in a smaller team

Cycling is such an unequal sport . And while peopel deride Ag2r etc for riding for 10th place remember their budget is about 1/7th - 1/8th of UAE or VJ or INEOS budget and they have to ride for their level of glory as they cant afford a Pog or Vinge or WVA or Kuss or A Yates ....Best they can do is have an ageing GC rider or hit lucky with an undiscovered youngster

So while admiring Sepp Kuss remember he is well paid for his few mountain pulls at the Tour (millions of dollars) and the rest of the time he can chill without the pressure of a leader

The good old "it's the money" argument... call me naive but I don't think that's the main factor for Kuss at all. Of course it helps to get a decent salary, but Jumbo didn't "buy" him away from some team where he had his own ambitions to sacrifice himself for their leaders. He grew into this role at Jumbo and it's something that clearly suits him. He doesn't want to ride for himself because he doesn't like it.

To suggest that AG2R have about 1/7th of Jumbo's budget is quite a stretch. The most conservative estimates have them at just a few million euros less than Jumbo.

 

[HelloDolly]

The good old "it's the money" argument... call me naive but I don't think that's the main factor for Kuss at all. Of course it helps to get a decent salary, but Jumbo didn't "buy" him away from some team where he had his own ambitions to sacrifice himself for their leaders. He grew into this role at Jumbo and it's something that clearly suits him. He doesn't want to ride for himself because he doesn't like it.

To suggest that AG2R have about 1/7th of Jumbo's budget is quite a stretch. The most conservative estimates have them at just a few million euros less than Jumbo.

Lowest to highest is 1/7th in pro peloton.... Ag2r were an example but they get 28% of the highest budget . But it was an example that proves the point about very unequal team budgets. Its not a few million les than Jumbo its 14 million as opposed to 35 million.

A top salary doesnt mean Kuss was bought away ???

It maybe be a good old argument that he is riding this way for the money but its sure just isn't cos he likes it .

 

[proffate]

Its the money ...Kuss and Yates are better paid by a mile than anyone at AG2R
Neither can win the Tour but could do as well as anyone from 4th down on GC but they get far more money as Dom than as a leader in a smaller team

Cycling is such an unequal sport . And while peopel deride Ag2r etc for riding for 10th place remember their budget is about 1/7th - 1/8th of UAE or VJ or INEOS budget and they have to ride for their level of glory as they cant afford a Pog or Vinge or WVA or Kuss or A Yates ....Best they can do is have an ageing GC rider or hit lucky with an undiscovered youngster

So while admiring Sepp Kuss remember he is well paid for his few mountain pulls at the Tour (millions of dollars) and the rest of the time he can chill without the pressure of a leader

I don't think Kuss makes that much. The entire team budget is like 25M and that pays for dozens of staff members, 25ish cyclists, equipment, lodging etc.

 

[HelloDolly]

I don't think Kuss makes that much. The entire team budget is like 25M and that pays for dozens of staff members, 25ish cyclists, equipment, lodging etc.

most of the money goes to the top riders ...another inequality in cycling
Ohter staff not paid much

I dont know much he gets but Richie Porte got 2 million as a Dom

His agents isnt very good if Kuss is not getting near this or more esp as many team would pay him alot to be their GC rider

 

[theyoungest]

Lowest to highest is 1/7th in pro peloton.... Ag2r were an example but they get 28% of the highest budget . But it was an example that proves the point about very unequal team budgets. Its not a few million les than Jumbo its 14 million as opposed to 35 million.

A top salary doesnt mean Kuss was bought away ???

It maybe be a good old argument that he is riding this way for the money but its sure just isn't cos he likes it .

Jumbo don't have a 35 million budget. I don't know where you got that from. There's a lot of numbers floating around, but that one is way too high.

This was a report last year in L'Equipe which is probably a little closer to reality than your 14 million vs 35 million.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1584803332048441344

 

[HelloDolly]

Pro cycling budgets

https://procyclinguk.com/what-are-the-budgets-of-the-worldtour-cycling-teams-in-2023/

 

[SHAD0W93]

Pro cycling budgets

https://procyclinguk.com/what-are-the-budgets-of-the-worldtour-cycling-teams-in-2023/

Alpecin punching well above their weight.

 

[Rechtschreibfehler]

Alpecin punching well above their weight.

Alpecin are getting a bargain for sponsoring this team.

 

[Scarponi]

Since Porte or Scarppni.

Poels saved Froome a couple of GTs

 

[proffate]

Pro cycling budgets

https://procyclinguk.com/what-are-the-budgets-of-the-worldtour-cycling-teams-in-2023/

That source says 20-25, not 35.

Of course the top riders are taking a disproportionate share of that. Vinge, Rog, Wva must get 7 figures. I would wager Benoot, Laporte, Van Baarle come next, because you see their faces all year long. I don't think Kuss is really getting paid that much.

 

[theyoungest]

Pro cycling budgets

https://procyclinguk.com/what-are-the-budgets-of-the-worldtour-cycling-teams-in-2023/

This one is also not very realistic, UAE's budget is way too low and Quickstep's is too high. Pogacar is the highest paid rider in the world, making about 6 million euros a year, this would leave them with 12 million euros for everything else? Adam Yates didn't go there for free either, I reckon. Nor did any of the other star riders they've lured away from other teams, way more than Jumbo have done.

None of this actually proves your point though that Sepp Kuss is in it for the money

 

[Peter von]

I understand that, HelloDolly, but surely he must have ambitions himself? I can't imagine someone chooses such a hard job just for the money. Wouldn't it make more sene to perhaps let him ride the Vuelta as captain? He should be able to hold his form until then.

He can get the odd stage win.

But riding as a GC leader is stressful, very stressful. One thing is the ITT'ing, but staying in the front of the final 10 k on all sprinter's stages, that is just cruel. riding with 0 off days as well, it's not funny. as a dom he can chill at the back and if there is a split it's not a biggie.

If Vingegaard hadn't turned up I do think Jumbo would have toyed with the idea of getting Kuss to ride GC in the GTs that Roglic didn't target, maybe GC in the Giro and ride for Roglic in the Tour. I am not sure if Kuss would have enjoyed it very much or been particularly good at it.

 

[Sciatic]

jeezus, you are just awful. Have you considered seeing a therapist for your obsession? Throw in Jessie Diggins and get a two-for-one. Uggh. He is the absolute best in the world at his job; try to get over it ok? You're just making yourself look obsessive and silly.

Actually, some of us find it very entertaining—it’s like a clinic meme now. And much of its tongue-in-cheek, unlike for instance Ilmaestro’s constant disparagement of Van Aert.

 

[Unchained]

I see Kuss' trajectory as ideal, built a house in Andorra, speaks good Spanish, training, personal, professional life balance looks about right. Guy is a solid contributor to major stage race efforts. Doesn't embarrass himself in ITT and TTT both flat and w significant elevation gain.
Can return to the US and contest anything on the calendar. He is probably saying and doing all kinds of signaling to Jumbo that he likes the way he is developing... and if it hits the fan w Jumbo and Andorra doesn't fit w new team he will come out of it financially whole. I see Girona as played out and he is not going to get weather and climbing miles if he moved North. If Jumbo does not see Sepp Kuss as part of a long term strategy big mistake, guy gets results and no big drama..

 

[Red Rick]

Kelderman, after pulling for Vingegaard, didn't wait for Kuss.

It's a disgrace. It's a scandal. It's an outrage.

 

[CyclistAbi]

So i guess a GOAT dom or what?

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Sepp Kuss will start and finish the next 30 GTs and will transform into Adam Hansen. I‘m sure Libertine will love it.

 

[theyoungest]

An interview with Sepp Kuss in Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant.

Sepp Kuss: Als ik niet aan de last van het kopmanschap hoef te denken, ben ik een betere renner

In alle vijf de grote rondes die Jumbo-Visma tot nu toe won was Sepp Kuss een onmisbare adjudant in de bergen. In mei hielp hij Primoz Roglic aan de winst in de Giro en nu doet Amerikaan voor Jonas Vingegaard hetzelfde in de Tour.

www.volkskrant.nl

Some interesting bits:

And then Kuss is also considering starting the Vuelta for Roglic's fourth victory at the end of August. “That is the plan,” he says in a conversation with a few journalists, “but we have to see if I have something left for the Vuelta later. I hope the team will take me along, but they also know that I have to be 100 percent with my qualities to be able to do my thing.'

All that successful and ever-improving domestique work in the grand tours must have given Kuss the idea that he can also win one?

"Yes, I always think about that. I would love an opportunity like that." But Kuss does have a special condition to be a leader. It must remain a secret for as long as possible during the three weeks of the Grand Tour that he is competing for the victory.

Why? Actually very logical: "If I don't have to think about the burden of the leader and the expectations, I'm a better rider. If I have to do all sorts of things, my results are less.”

Thinking out loud, Kuss comes to the conclusion that as a leader he would like to race in freedom - the benefits, not the burdens. "I don't want the whole team to ride for me. I would like to sit back and stay out of trouble on any flat stage so I can see what is possible in the other stages, in the mountains.”

The American appears to have thought about the matter quite concretely. "It would be perfect if they send me to the Giro with Olav and a sprint train." In other words, Kuss is aiming for a final victory in the Tour of Italy, where everyone must think that Jumbo-Visma only came to win one flat stage after another with top sprinter Olav Kooij.

Side note: the course should not have too many flat time trial kilometers. "I'm honest with myself: a miraculous improvement of my time trial is not possible for me. That's the whole thing about riding for GC: you have to be able to do a lot. But if you know yourself, you know that some things are not possible. Then you better focus on what you are good at.”

So we'll probably see Kuss in the Giro next year, as their GC leader. But don't tell anyone!

 

[Valv.Piti]

Big fan of Sepp and I do hope he earns his shot at some point. Definitely one of the best mountain domestiques - Azavedo, Heras, Szmyd, Porte... he's in that league.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Kelderman, after pulling for Vingegaard, didn't wait for Kuss.

It's a disgrace. It's a scandal. It's an outrage.

You can joke about it, but I thought it was rather dumb that Kelderman went pretty much all out after being dropped by Vingegaard .... to finish 10th on the stage. For what?

Although I half expect Kuss to lose bucket loads of time tomorrow, I think the team could have supported him a bit. He obviously cares about his own GC.

 

[tobydawq]

An interview with Sepp Kuss in Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant.

Sepp Kuss: Als ik niet aan de last van het kopmanschap hoef te denken, ben ik een betere renner

In alle vijf de grote rondes die Jumbo-Visma tot nu toe won was Sepp Kuss een onmisbare adjudant in de bergen. In mei hielp hij Primoz Roglic aan de winst in de Giro en nu doet Amerikaan voor Jonas Vingegaard hetzelfde in de Tour.

www.volkskrant.nl

Some interesting bits:







So we'll probably see Kuss in the Giro next year, as their GC leader. But don't tell anyone!

Pretty stupid to say that in an interview if he wants it to be a secret...

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Big fan of Sepp and I do hope he earns his shot at some point. Definitely one of the best mountain domestiques - Azavedo, Heras, Szmyd, Porte... he's in that league.

he's better than peak poels. In his best stages he was even a top 3 climber. After the fall this Tour I feel he's been slightly less. (or it is fatigue from the giro)

 

[Netserk]

he's better than peak poels. In his best stages he was even a top 3 climber. After the fall this Tour I feel he's been slightly less. (or it is fatigue from the giro)

He was already declining on Joux-Plane.

I think it was a mistake to have him stay high in GC. He could have rolled home with the gruppetto in the opening weekend and stages 10 and 12.