Teams & Riders Sepp Kuss is the next Sepp Kuss thread

[Libertine Seguros]

Has any American worn a GT leader's jersey since Chris Horner?

I tried to resist but I couldn't, sorry.

Megan Guarnier (2015)
Megan Guarnier, Evelyn Stevens, Mara Abbott (2016)
Ruth Winder (2018)
Ruth Winder (2021)
Kristen Faulkner (2022)

 

[Lequack]

Your GC Kuss

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Keep in mind that Valverde was doing great in the Vuelta in 2016 after having completed both the Giro and the Tour and then, rather uncharacteristically, completely collapsed on the queen stage. Kuss might also run out of legs at some point, but unless and until that happens, he is very much relevant to the red jersey battle. Should hold on to the lead in the TT too.

 

[Netserk]

Keep in mind that Valverde was doing great in the Vuelta in 2016 after having completed both the Giro and the Tour and then, rather uncharacteristically, completely collapsed on the queen stage. Kuss might also run out of legs at some point, but unless and until that happens, he is very much relevant to the red jersey battle. Should hold on to the lead in the TT too.

When he was 7th in GC before the final ITT of the 2021 Vuelta, he lost more than 5 minutes to Rogla. 3 minutes to Bernal, Mas and De La Cruz. 1 minute to frigging G. Martin.

 

[theyoungest]

I know his ITT may be an issue, but he has a decent buffer now, so to me Kuss is a legit contender for red. What am I missing perhaps?

I think nobody, including Kuss himself, knows how long he can hold this form. In the TT he'll lose at least 1.30, so that would leave him with a buffer of about a minute on guys who are fresher and specifically prepared (except for Vingegaard). And that's in an ideal situation.

So far he has been freewheeling, but he doesn't like the pressure and inevitably some pressure will come, for instance from people who believe he can win the Vuelta.

 

[Netserk]

So I would say that he is quite unlikely to be in red after the ITT, at least Evenepoel will pass him.

 

[tobydawq]

So I would say that he is quite unlikely to be in red after the ITT, at least Evenepoel will pass him.

Yeah, possibly. It will at least be so close that it doesn't look obvious that he should be a co-captain any more.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

When he was 7th in GC before the final ITT of the 2021 Vuelta, he lost more than 5 minutes to Rogla. 3 minutes to Bernal, Mas and De La Cruz. 1 minute to frigging G. Martin.

He was 12th in the first ITT in the same race though. It's also a pretty short TT, he needs to lose almost 9 seconds per kilometre to fall behind Evenepoel. That's a lot.

 

[Netserk]

He was 12th in the first ITT in the same race though. It's also a pretty short TT, he needs to lose almost 9 seconds per kilometre to fall behind Evenepoel. That's a lot.

5.8 s/km. And he lost more than 9 in 2021.

 

[Unchained]

Shame that he didn't have enough gas in the tank to get the stage win..got the respect of Remco as he gave chase..and when Kuss got gapped he fought really hard to be in contact for the final sprint grouping.. great ride, excellent result, awesome team effort.. Remco no support.. Nobody

 

[Red Rick]

Kuss can go either way in the ITT. He hasn't had many with the pressure on, but he's done a few that weren't meme material.

Heijboer says that Kuss struggles with holding his TT position for long, which is why he called him a prologue legend. And I would guess that fatigue and a 3rd week ITT would make this problem worse. I think the rest day should help him a bit.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

5.8 s/km. And he lost more than 9 in 2021.

2 minutes is not 180 seconds Devil's Elbow, you idiot. My bad then. Still think Kuss is odds on to hold the jersey though, assuming no time loss tomorrow, but much less certain then.

 

[IndianCyclist]

I don't think he will be able to hold the lead till the end. The TT he will lose ~ 1.5 to 2 min and that will be the end of that.

 

[Red Rick]

People still using s/km instead of s/min..........

 

[Netserk]

People still using s/km instead of s/min..........

Tell me Evenepoel's winning time in the ITT and I'll use s/min.

I think the ITT in the Vuelta last year is quite comparable, and Kuss would have had to finish within 3 minutes of Evenepoel there for a performance equivalent to holding on to red Tuesday.

 

[Red Rick]

Tell me Evenepoel's winning time in the ITT and I'll use s/min.

I think the ITT in the Vuelta last year is quite comparable, and Kuss would have to finish within 3 minutes of Evenepoel there for a performance equivalent to holdling on to red Tuesday.

He'll do 28'39 and Ganna will do 28'26

 

[Devil's Elbow]

I think the ITT in the Vuelta last year is quite comparable, and Kuss would have had to finish within 3 minutes of Evenepoel there for a performance equivalent to holding on to red Tuesday.

31 riders finished within 3 minutes of Evenepoel in the TT last year. Do you really think Kuss is incapable of finishing a TT in the top-30 when defending the red jersey?

 

[theyoungest]

31 riders finished within 3 minutes of Evenepoel in the TT last year. Do you really think Kuss is incapable of finishing a TT in the top-30 when defending the red jersey?

In a flat TT he's just terrible. Really bad. His TT position sucks. So yes, top-30 would already be quite surprising.

 

[Netserk]

31 riders finished within 3 minutes of Evenepoel in the TT last year. Do you really think Kuss is incapable of finishing a TT in the top-30 when defending the red jersey?

Yes. But I'll grant that it could very well be close, so maybe he'll lose it by ~20".

 

[Lequack]

Jumbo could tell him to go easy in the TT so he has the legs for the mountains, but then again you can't really tell a man who is leading the GC by almost 3 minutes to go easy, wouldn't be fair.

 

[Red Rick]

Bro isn't Marc Soler not just gonna get red in the ITT?

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Bro isn't Marc Soler not just gonna get red in the ITT?

Of course, he was compared to Indurain in the beginning of his career, he‘s gonna show that this was not exaggerated.

 

[Netserk]

Bro isn't Marc Soler not just gonna get red in the ITT?

Hmm, if he can still TT as decently as back in his Movistar days, sure. I had completely forgotten him.

 

[Red Rick]

Hmm, if he can still TT as decently as back in his Movistar days, sure. I had completely forgotten him.

Man managed to be a meme rider and be forgotten at the same time

 

[ManicJack]

I doubt we've ever seen Kuss go 100% in a TT. I think he'll surprise us. Holding the red jersey for 3 weeks is a completely different question.