Nat Bromhead
‘Super team’ Jumbo Visma have made a clean sweep of the three Grand Tours of the year, with Sepp Kuss winning the Vuelta on Sunday.
The historic victory comes after Jonas Vingegaard’s victory in the Tour de France and Primoz Roglic’s big win in the Giro d’Italia. For the first time in cycling history, one team has won all three grand tours in the same season.
29-year-old Kuss – Jumbo Visma’s standout super-domestique over several seasons – stood on the top step of the podium in Madrid on Sunday and said “this is like a fairytale.”
“With Primoz Roglic winning in Italy and Jonas Vingegaard winning in France earlier this year, I wanted to be part of this team chasing the overall victory in the Vuelta,” he said. “Standing here as the overall winner is something I could never have imagined this in my wildest dreams,” he added.
“It will take a while for this to sink in”, Kuss said. “At some point, I felt it was possible. I was getting stronger and more confident every day. When you add that to the team’s strength, you can take on the whole world. I have grown wings in the last few weeks. I am eternally grateful to Jonas, Primoz and the others for their support.
Sepp Kuss said he will remember the achievement for the rest of his life.
“The same goes for the support of the fans from all over the world,” he said. ‘From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this success story. Together, we have made history.”
