Despite going from tremendous domestique to Grand Tour winner final summer season on the Vuelta España within the largest win of his profession, Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) continues to be holding agency that Tour de France management is a special beast.
Kuss agreed with what Visma DS Grischa Niermann informed Cyclingnews yesterday, that the hope is to stay with plan A and have Jonas Vingegaard return from damage in time for the Tour to steer the Dutch squad.
The American believes for Visma-Lease a Bike to win their third Tour de France in succession, it’s “most definitely” solely potential with Vingegaard on the beginning line.
Two-time defending champion Vingegaard is at present at altitude camp in Tignes on his lengthy journey again from damage whereas Kuss takes co-leads Visma on the Critérium du Dauphiné alongside US compatriot Matteo Jorgenson.
“Of course, it might change a bit [his Tour status]. I might hope that Jonas might do the Tour, I believe that provides us all a much bigger objective,” Kuss informed reporters in Gannat forward of stage 2 in France.
“For me, it is simpler there with Jonas than simply by myself for certain. But if he is not there, then I’m able to adapt however then it’s important to regulate the expectations a bit.”
There’s no stress for the second from the American, nevertheless, even with out his chief and final 12 months’s winner Vingegaard on the Dauphiné and the Tour simply 26 days away.
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In truth, he solely exuded calmness on the opening two levels of the eight-day race, nearly lacking the départ fictif on stage 1 to answer the media and seeking to take pleasure in his first race again since Itzulia Basque Country in April the place Vingegaard broke his collarbone and ribs and suffered a collapsed lung.
Kuss additionally made certain to not pigeonhole himself for a particular aim on the Tour de France ought to he find yourself as a pacesetter, be {that a} top-five or podium end, conscious that Vingegaard’s nonetheless undecided presence would change every thing.
“I don’t know,” he replied with a smile when requested how excessive he might end if tasked with taking over the likes of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) for the general alone.
“It will depend on so many issues. I at all times wish to shoot for one of the best however within the Tour, it’s important to be practical,” Kuss mentioned. “It’s the toughest race to win and the toughest race to be on the rostrum.”
However, whereas Kuss was unwilling to foretell how his present type would carry to the Florence Grand Depart on June 29, he assured that he would seize the second ought to it come up on the Tour.
“I simply should see within the second how I really feel and I believe I do know myself effectively sufficient – when I’ve the legs or not, and it is nonetheless a methods away till the Tour to see really the way it’s going there,” mentioned the 29-year outdated Durango native.
“If I see the chance there I’ll go for it.”
Kuss completed within the group of leaders on stage 2 of the Dauphiné and sits equal sixth whereas Jorgenson moved as much as third general because the pair problem for general victory.
However, regardless of his excellence on the climbs, Kuss is conscious that the 34km time trial on stage 4 is not suited to his strengths, admitting that “I’m going to lose fairly a while most definitely.”
And though the American defended his Vuelta lead within the TT final 12 months en path to securing the US’s first Grand Tour victory for a decade, this drawback will solely be magnified on the Tour.
He’ll be suited to many of the 2024 parcours however the 59 kilometres between the flat-ish race towards the clock on stage 7 and the ultimate time trial from Monaco to Nice will solely play into the palms of Pogačar, Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step).
Kuss’ finest outcome on the Tour is twelfth general from final 12 months’s race, the place solely a crash on stage 20 denied him a top-10 end.
In that race, Vingegaard’s domination on the brutally powerful and boiling sizzling Cote de Domancy ITT locations him as the one viable Visma choice towards a top-form Pogačar after the Slovenian blitzed the GC area within the Giro d’Italia’s duo of time trials final month.
Not to say his repeated domination over Pogačar on the toughest, longest climbs to excessive altitude up to now two editions of La Grande Boucle
‘GC Kuss’ might but change into the primary choice, however the focus at Visma is actually nonetheless on their outright chief Vingegaard returning near 100% and making an attempt to assert a Tour de France hat-trick whereas denying Pogačar a historic Giro-Tour double within the course of.