Sepp Kuss: Vuelta winner is a party beast with German roots – ex-teammates celebrate Jumbo star as a “monster” without ego

One thing is certain: “Sepp will celebrate more than anyone else in the Jumbo team, no one will drink more beers at the winner’s party” – with this Britton gives the first undisguised insight into his former noble helper from the two years together in the US racing team Rally Cycling . The Canadian was captain of the team when a 22-year-old from Colorado joined the racing team in May 2016.

In an interview with Eurosport, Britton remembers the first few weeks together: “He was one of the few who could outpace me in training and is one of the most talented riders I’ve seen. At the first race in Canada, the Tour de Beauce He won the first mountain stage as a soloist and I just thought to myself: Who is this guy?”

Adam de Vos, who was also a professional at Rally in 2016/17, highlights Kuss’ personality: “Of course he was talented, but above all he was incredibly likeable, not at all selfish – like now with Jumbo. He had no ego. Everything “The most positive thing you can say about someone applies to him,” enthuses the former Canadian champion.

Also that he can celebrate successes: “Did you see him on the podium with the champagne? [nach dem Sieg auf der 6. Vuelta-Etappe]? Deep down, he’s still the boy from college who knows how to party,” Britton reveals. De Vos confirms this with a laugh: “We had wild parties together. We won a lot of races, especially in 2017, and there were nice evenings afterwards. I also remember our races in Italy at the end of the season, there was quite a bit of Spritz drunk…!”

The fact that her teammate made the jump to the Jumbo racing team for the 2018 season was a surprise at the time, says Britton: “He didn’t sign there because of his results, but more with regard to his potential. Because in 2017 he was pretty good, but not in such a way that it deserved a contract in the WorldTour.”

A rather mixed start to 2018 was followed by a breakthrough with overall victory at the Tour of Utah in August, which was rewarded with the start of the Vuelta as his first of twelve Grand Tours. He arrived in Madrid in 65th place and no one would have expected that he would be at the top of the podium there five years later.

But Britton is categorical about any suspicions about Kuss’ rise: “He is a monster who would never have anything to do with doping – simply because he doesn’t need it with his talent.”

One of Kuss’ lesser-known qualities is his knowledge of German, as the former cross-country skier (his father was a US national coach) and mountain biker has roots in several European countries; in addition to Italy and Slovenia, there are family connections to Germany, as he once called “Cyclingpub” revealed: “I learned German when I was really young. My mother’s family is German and she always spoke German to me when I was little and I had German and Spanish at school too, but not anymore at the University.”

“Thank you for your support at every stage, every climb, every finish – I heard my name in the mountains, in every corner of Spain, you gave me so much love and helped me overcome so many things in this Vuelta: Thank you so much!”