Updated January 16, 2026 07:42AM
There’s no identity crisis for Sepp Kuss at the opening of his 10th season.
Now 31, Kuss knows exactly who he is and why he races. He’s firmly established as one of the WorldTour’s most lethal climbing domestiques, and enters 2026 confident in the seemingly impossible task of helping Jonas Vingegaard topple Tadej Pogačar.
With his victory at the 2023 Vuelta a España now in the rearview, he’s long buried his own personal ambitions to be at the service of others.
It’s a role he embraces, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his own finish line this season.
Kuss, speaking to the Spanish daily Marca, said there’s one box he wants to tick in 2026.
“As a personal goal, I’d like to win a stage in the Giro, as it’s the only victory missing from my palmarès,” Kuss told Marca. “Let’s see if it can happen this year.”
Sprinter ace Tyler Farrar remains the only American male to win stages in all three grand tours in a run from 2009 to 2011. With stage wins at the Tour de France in 2021, making Kuss the last American to win there, and stages at the Vuelta in 2019 and 2023, a Giro stage victory remains the lone challenge on his career to-do list.
Beyond that personal ambition, Kuss returns to his familiar role as Mr. Reliable.
He is slated to start both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France to help Danish captain Vingegaard grind up Europe’s steepest mountain roads.
Chasing another page of history
Kuss, shown here winning stage 15 in the 2021 Tour, wants to add a Giro stage to his palmares. (Photo: Gruber Images/Velo)
Kuss has been smashing records since turning pro in 2017. After joining the WorldTour the following year, the Colorado climber is now established as one of the best pure climbers the U.S. has ever produced.
He enters 2026 with clear priorities and remains firmly entrenched as a key piece in Visma-Lease a Bike’s grand tour-winning machine.
When Kuss is on the squad, one of its leaders has a very good chance of winning.
The “Eagle from Durango” has been part of eight of Visma’s nine grand tour wins in the modern era. His consistency is so dependable that team boss Richard Plugge famously nicknamed him “The Mailman” because he always delivers.
The only one he missed was with Simon Yates in the 2025 Giro, whose sudden retirement caught Kuss off guard.
“Yes, it was a surprise. It’s a shame to lose him, especially for the Tour de France,” Kuss said. “The truth is he’s had a phenomenal career. He won two grand tours and left on a high note.”
With Yates gone, there’s even more pressure on Kuss, but he’s ready for it.
“The overall goals will be the grand tours. First, I’ll go to the Giro with Jonas and enjoy being there. A few years ago, I won with Primož, and being with him will be very special.”
Kuss didn’t rule out racing the Vuelta later this season.
With 15 career grand tour starts — he finished them all except the 2022 Vuelta — Kuss brings trademark experience and consistency. He played a central role in Visma’s historic 2023 sweep of all three men’s grand tours in a single season.
That year also earned him a unique place in cycling history. Kuss became only the second rider, along with Gastone Nencini in 1957, to win a grand tour and finish all three in the same season.
‘Jonas is a rider for the Giro’
Kuss, shown here in last year’s Tour with teammate Jorgenson, is one of cycling’s best climbing domestiques. (Photo: Chris Auld/Velo)
Kuss will return to his familiar role as climbing wingman, and believes his Danish leader is up to the Giro-Tour double both physically and mentally.
“I think Jonas is a rider for the Giro. It’s a course that suits him very well, although this year it’s a bit less demanding,” Kuss said. “Mentally, riding the Giro will be very good for him, and he can arrive at the Tour without the pressure he’s had in recent years.”
With wins at both the Tour and Vuelta, Vingegaard is hoping to join the elusive grand tour club and become only the eighth rider to win all three men’s grand tours.
The “Durango Kid” believes the Giro-Tour double remains manageable, and even suggested Vingegaard will be better off by taking on the Giro.
“From my point of view, doing the Giro isn’t a problem because it’s almost like a high-altitude training camp,” Kuss said. “You get massages every day, you eat well, you take care of yourself, and you’re in good physical shape. There’s no problem.”
The Colorado climber sees enough space between the two races to reset and rebuild, especially with today’s tilt toward nutrition and recovery, but said the psychological load of leadership is the unknown factor.
“There’s enough time between the Giro and the Tour to rest properly and then prepare again. Carrying the pressure of being the leader in a grand tour takes its toll, but physically, the double is possible.”
Taking on Pogačar: ‘It’s about being creative with tactics’
Kuss, pictured here in the 2022 Tour, believes Visma can crack Pogačar. (Photo: Chris Auld/Velo)
Visma insists that Vingegaard’s Giro detour doesn’t take anything away from the team’s Tour ambitions. In fact, Visma sport manager Grischa Niermann stated emphatically that the yellow jersey remains the season’s top goal.
Kuss knows any Tour de France ambition ultimately runs through Pogačar, no easy ask considering how the Slovenian’s been mowing down everyone over the past 24 months.
“Every year it gets more complicated, but it’s about being very creative with tactics and looking for moments of weakness,” Kuss said of Pogačar. “Every rider has a point or moment of weakness, and it’s about finding those situations.”
Visma has beaten Pogačar before, but over the past two seasons, the Slovenian has been near untouchable.
Last year, Visma adopted a grind-Pogačar-down tactic in the opening 10 days that horribly backfired when it appeared that the entire team was so tired from effort that no one could answer when the Slovenian attacked in the Pyrénées.
For Kuss, hope springs eternal at the start of every racing season.
“On a summit finish, if [Pogačar] arrives at the bottom of the climb in good position, sometimes it seems impossible to beat him,” Kuss told Marca. “We have to go into every race believing we can beat him.”
Kuss admits Pogačar is a generational one-off, and like most in the peloton, looks at him with a mix of fear and admiration.
“From the outside, it seems he still enjoys cycling like a child and is always looking for another challenge, which brings many good things to cycling,” Kuss said.
“For example, Primož has won almost every race in the world, but he’s still pushing himself and looking for more challenges. The same is true for Pogačar. He’s always looking for something more to win.”
Now 31, Kuss is entering his 10th season as one of Visma’s most veteran and experienced captains. He’s also settled in nicely into the European lifestyle and started a family with his Spanish wife and her extended family.
His agenda remains the same: light up the climbs and help Vingeggaard take on Pogačar.
And he’ll be ready to pounce if and when the road opens up.
Kuss celebrates victory in the 2023 Vuelta, the last U.S. rider to win one of cycling’s grand tours. (Photo: Chris Auld/Velo)