Sepp Kuss... The 3 GT monster

[ashhutch1997]

I must ask why Sepp Kuss seems to have fallen off the face of the earth since his 2023 heroics? Not saying its Clinic related but safer to discuss here. Why have his results fallen away after his 2023 which culminated in him winning the Vuelta as part of a three pronged Visma?

In a way it reminds me how Horner disappeared after winning the 2013 Vuelta. Kuss is a very different case I know but still, same race, same result, similar aftermath. Horner didn't ride strongly in the Giro and Tour in the same season (Horner didn't even ride those grand tours in 2013).

The below post in discussing Matteo Jorgenson at Paris-Nice gives some context.

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Tbf Horner was about 90 years old at the time.

 

[Cookster15]

Tbf Horner was about 90 years old at the time.

Horner had just won the 2013 Vuelta at nearly 42. He retired because nobody wanted to sign him, both for his age but also how he achieved that Vuelta victory on one of the two most feared mountains used in cycling.

But Sepp Kuss is only 30. Why has his level fallen away so dramatically in what should be his peak age as a cyclist?

 

[Ripper]

Horner had just won the 2013 Vuelta at nearly 42. He retired because nobody wanted to sign him, both for his age but also how he achieved that Vuelta victory on one of the two most feared mountains used in cycling.

But Sepp Kuss is only 30. Why has his level fallen away so dramatically in what should be his peak age as a cyclist?

Hard to say. Sometimes folks just put together an amazing season and it cooks them. And yes, sometimes doping makes it worse. But I've known a few people who were really good, then everything clicked and they had an amazing year - they avoided injuries and illness, and their body was just ready for it. And then repeated health issues and a bit of bad luck resulted in them never having that kind of season again.

From what I know about Kuss, he is amazingly talented and was able to just destroy folks locally. I think he thrives are more high intensity type of work (rather than lots of miles), which sometimes can create some health issues, especially if there are lots of races as well. I wonder if he changed things around a bit to try and be better still, and overcooked it, which can take a year easily to dig your way out of.

 

[AttaqueDeRolland]

Surely, it's a mental thing. He tried being the main man, and it just wasn't his thing. He's already admitted to that. I think he's still rebounding from that failure.

Also, to be fair, outside of the UAE Tour in 2023, week-long stage races were never his thing. He's only won two of them, and that was Vuelta a Burgos and Tour of Utah. I personally wouldn't judge him on Algarve, Catalunya, and Itzulia.