
GC Kuss The Survivor
GC Kuss the Survivor. More grit than knives. Vamos Sepp!!! Available in Women's

Meanwhile Kuss thinking I was spoon fed a GT and all I got was this t shirt design.
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Yes, the time gap would have been so small that practically you would have had two guys in the lead. Although Vingegaard would have attacked first to increase his advantage, with Roglic working for Kuss to close the gap and possibly counter.
I don't think Roglic would have taken to that and I bet Kuss for the win was the only way to settle internal differences. Kuss was the only rider that could tame the ambitions of Roglic and Vingegaard to win a second GT this year, without resulting in acrimonious breakdown of team relationahips. Whereas I do not think Roglic would have appreciated team orders to sacrifice himself for Vingegaard. Primoz already let on after his Angrilu victory that the situation wasn't ideal, but it would have gotten worse had Vingegaard taken the lead from Kuss. Of course, I wouldn't have had any problem with it, because it would have benefitted the race, the melodrama and hence entertainment value.What if they'd made the decision to actually ride for Vingegaard?
What if they'd made the decision to actually ride for Vingegaard?
Jumbo wanted to test Quickstep, and use Kuss as a tactical pawn. Of course they didn't develop this plan because Evenepoel had said he wanted to give the jersey away. I'm sure Kuss wasn't the guy he had in mindYes, because that's exactly why Jumbo worked so damn hard to put Sepp up the road. It certainly wasn't to serve him victory on a plate that was prepared for Vingegaard and Roglic. If Remco hadn't been so stupid as to broadcast to the world he wanted to give the jersey away, there simply would not have been such a ferocious fight to get into a break, while that break certainly would not have been so numerous as a result. The size of the break was caused by the great many who fancied their chances of obtaining red (for themselves or a teammate) and it was that size that gave Kuss such a margin of time, whilst a free ride to victory.
They did.
For non-Americans, there's an expression "Now that he's seen Paris, how are you going keep him down on the farm?" -- which should be self explanatory. So...now that Kuss has tasted what it means to win a big race, what's next? Will he just meekly go back to donkey duty riding 5 meters behind Jonas or Primoz on only the steepest pitches? Or will GC Kuss rear up on his hind legs and demand Giro leadership?
Giro leadership was on the cards for him regardless. Kuss for GC, Kooij for the sprints. He hinted at it during the Tour, wanting to try for GC but not with an entire team dedicated to him. Operate from the shadows a bit, he's a reluctant leader.For non-Americans, there's an expression "Now that he's seen Paris, how are you going keep him down on the farm?" -- which should be self explanatory. So...now that Kuss has tasted what it means to win a big race, what's next? Will he just meekly go back to donkey duty riding 5 meters behind Jonas or Primoz on only the steepest pitches? Or will GC Kuss rear up on his hind legs and demand Giro leadership?
You've got a guy who, whether he was gifted a huge victory, still pedaled his a** off and with a decent team of his own can likely Top 10 any GT -- with some ITT upside, even. If I were Jumbo and there's going to be money on the table after the sponsorship shuffles, I'd sign him on a big 3-year deal, give him Giro leadership and some ITT training and say "be ready for the Tour as top mtn dom/semi-protected leader if things really go pear shaped." Worst case, you lock up the best climbing helper so other teams can't poach him.
If I were Kuss I'd demand that deal. (not sure when his contract ends, but he could always seek to renegotiate)
Depends on a lot of things that cant be discussed here properly.For non-Americans, there's an expression "Now that he's seen Paris, how are you going keep him down on the farm?" -- which should be self explanatory. So...now that Kuss has tasted what it means to win a big race, what's next? Will he just meekly go back to donkey duty riding 5 meters behind Jonas or Primoz on only the steepest pitches? Or will GC Kuss rear up on his hind legs and demand Giro leadership?
You've got a guy who, whether he was gifted a huge victory, still pedaled his a** off and with a decent team of his own can likely Top 10 any GT -- with some ITT upside, even. If I were Jumbo and there's going to be money on the table after the sponsorship shuffles, I'd sign him on a big 3-year deal, give him Giro leadership and some ITT training and say "be ready for the Tour as top mtn dom/semi-protected leader if things really go pear shaped."
If I were Kuss I'd demand that deal.
Well, of course the other thing is that it's then going to be somewhat impossible to 'operate from the shadows' as a GC rider when you've just won a GT, no matter how fortuitous it is. You only have the benefit of surprise once.Giro leadership was on the cards for him regardless. Kuss for GC, Kooij for the sprints. He hinted at it during the Tour, wanting to try for GC but not with an entire team dedicated to him. Operate from the shadows a bit, he's a reluctant leader.
He'll probably never find himself in a situation as perfect as he did these last few weeks. Nobody expected anything from him, he got "handed" the jersey, everybody rooted for him, and if he lost it it would be mostly thanks to his evil backstabbing teammates. But if he now starts in the Giro with GC ambitions of course he can't do so anymore in relative anonimity. He's the Vuelta champion. That creates a different dynamic, one I'm not too sure he feels very comfortable with.
Maybe that was true in the past but showing himself he can do it and that he actually won, should be a big confidence booster going forward. Could not get much better.Well, of course the other thing is that it's then going to be somewhat impossible to 'operate from the shadows' as a GC rider when you've just won a GT, no matter how fortuitous it is. You only have the benefit of surprise once.
I mean, even guys like David Arroyo got treated as threats after their breakout, and he got a much bigger time gift than Sepp and didn't even win that race. Somebody like Melcior Mauri had his breakthrough GC win but then it was only after a couple of years of failures on that front that he got back to the kind of freedom to ride for GC without the pressure, and even then it was largely as a domestique. The problem for Sepp in that comparison is that Melcior won his shock GT at 25 whereas Sepp just turned 29, so the question would be, if that was the situation that played out, whether he'd still have the gas in the tank for it after that down period, or whether he needs to maximise the next couple of years and operate under the pressure of a protected leader that he's indicated isn't something that comes naturally to him.
Agreed with all points. the one thing that seems to have changed, at least publicly, is that he now has more confidence in himself. This is the first time he's actually raced an entire GT for position, correct? So, he's got the skills, the experience, the team...and also a big fat target on his back...Giro leadership was on the cards for him regardless. Kuss for GC, Kooij for the sprints. He hinted at it during the Tour, wanting to try for GC but not with an entire team dedicated to him. Operate from the shadows a bit, he's a reluctant leader.
He'll probably never find himself in a situation as perfect as he did these last few weeks. Nobody expected anything from him, he got "handed" the jersey, everybody rooted for him, and if he lost it it would be mostly thanks to his evil backstabbing teammates. But if he now starts in the Giro with GC ambitions of course he can't do so anymore in relative anonimity. He's the Vuelta champion. That creates a different dynamic, one I'm not too sure he feels very comfortable with.
A few years ago they wanted him to stay in GC as well in the Vuelta, with Roglic as the leader. But it just didn't work out. He really doesn't handle pressure well. His trainer Mathieu Heijboer has said that since then they've just told him: do what you do on the days that matter, and on the rest just take it easy. The GC Kuss crowd think they deliberately held him back from his true destiny, but that was not quite what was going on.Agreed with all points. the one thing that seems to have changed, at least publicly, is that he now has more confidence in himself. This is the first time he's actually raced an entire GT for position, correct? So, he's got the skills, the experience, the team...and also a big fat target on his back...
I've seen him at 250 somewhere.So what odds did the bookies give on a Kuss Vuelta win? Is he a bigger surprise betting-wise than TGH in 2020?
Of course dealing with pressure is something you can learn, famously Vingegaard was really bad at it as well. But I don't know if Kuss really likes this newfound leadership role. Somehow it seems to me he doesn't.
He will be a bottom *** wherever he goes.Enough of Sepp Kuss being a dom. He's won a GT. Time to go elsewhere and be a team leader. JV has enough cooks. Sepp can be the head chef on another team.
Well, I'm sure people thought that he'd peak as a domestique at Jumbo too, but now he's a GT champion.He will be a bottom *** wherever he goes.
Kuss readily admits he doesn't like the pressure of being a GT leader. Vingegaard and Roglic were being the perfect training wheels in that regard. There's a reason he floated the idea of doing the Giro for GC without a full team to back him up.Well, I'm sure people thought that he'd peak as a domestique at Jumbo too, but now he's a GT champion.