{"id":413691,"date":"2026-01-16T18:50:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T18:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/413691\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T18:50:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T18:50:10","slug":"sepp-kuss-still-believes-tadej-pogacar-can-be-beaten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/413691\/","title":{"rendered":"Sepp Kuss Still Believes Tadej Poga\u010dar Can Be Beaten"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated January 16, 2026 07:42AM<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no identity crisis for Sepp Kuss<\/a> at the opening of his 10th season.<\/p>\n

Now 31, Kuss knows exactly who he is and why he races. He\u2019s firmly established as one of the WorldTour\u2019s most lethal climbing domestiques, and enters 2026 confident in the seemingly impossible task of helping Jonas Vingegaard<\/a> topple Tadej Poga\u010dar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With his victory at the 2023 Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a now in the rearview, he\u2019s long buried his own personal ambitions to be at the service of others.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a role he embraces<\/a>, but that doesn\u2019t mean he doesn\u2019t have his own finish line this season.<\/p>\n

Kuss, speaking to the Spanish daily Marca<\/a>, said there\u2019s one box he wants to tick in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a personal goal, I\u2019d like to win a stage in the Giro, as it\u2019s the only victory missing from my palmar\u00e8s,\u201d Kuss told Marca. \u201cLet\u2019s see if it can happen this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Beyond that personal ambition, Kuss returns to his familiar role as Mr. Reliable.<\/p>\n

He is slated to start both the Giro d\u2019Italia and Tour de France to help Danish captain Vingegaard grind up Europe\u2019s steepest mountain roads.<\/p>\n

Chasing another page of history
\n\"SeppKuss, shown here winning stage 15 in the 2021 Tour, wants to add a Giro stage to his palmares. (Photo: Gruber Images\/Velo)<\/p>\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He enters 2026 with clear priorities and remains firmly entrenched as a key piece in Visma-Lease a Bike\u2019s grand tour-winning machine.<\/p>\n

When Kuss is on the squad, one of its leaders has a very good chance of winning.<\/p>\n

The \u201cEagle from Durango\u201d has been part of eight of Visma\u2019s nine grand tour wins in the modern era. His consistency is so dependable that team boss Richard Plugge famously nicknamed him \u201cThe Mailman\u201d<\/a> because he always delivers.<\/p>\n

The only one he missed was with Simon Yates in the 2025 Giro, whose sudden retirement caught Kuss off guard.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, it was a surprise. It\u2019s a shame to lose him, especially for the Tour de France,\u201d Kuss said. \u201cThe truth is he\u2019s had a phenomenal career. He won two grand tours and left on a high note.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Yates gone, there\u2019s even more pressure on Kuss, but he\u2019s ready for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe overall goals will be the grand tours. First, I\u2019ll go to the Giro with Jonas and enjoy being there. A few years ago, I won with Primo\u017e, and being with him will be very special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kuss didn\u2019t rule out racing the Vuelta later this season.<\/p>\n

With 15 career grand tour starts \u2014 he finished them all except the 2022 Vuelta \u2014 Kuss brings trademark experience and consistency<\/a>. He played a central role in Visma\u2019s historic 2023 sweep of all three men\u2019s grand tours in a single season.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u2018Jonas is a rider for the Giro\u2019
\n\"JorgensonKuss, shown here in last year\u2019s Tour with teammate Jorgenson, is one of cycling\u2019s best climbing domestiques. (Photo: Chris Auld\/Velo)<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Jonas is a rider for the Giro. It\u2019s a course that suits him very well, although this year it\u2019s a bit less demanding,\u201d Kuss said. \u201cMentally, riding the Giro will be very good for him, and he can arrive at the Tour without the pressure he\u2019s had in recent years.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s grand tours.<\/p>\n

The \u201cDurango Kid\u201d believes the Giro-Tour double remains manageable, and even suggested Vingegaard will be better off by taking on the Giro.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom my point of view, doing the Giro isn\u2019t a problem because it\u2019s almost like a high-altitude training camp,\u201d Kuss said. \u201cYou get massages every day, you eat well, you take care of yourself, and you\u2019re in good physical shape. There\u2019s no problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Colorado climber sees enough space between the two races to reset and rebuild, especially with today\u2019s tilt toward nutrition and recovery, but said the psychological load of leadership is the unknown factor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking on Poga\u010dar: \u2018It\u2019s about being creative with tactics\u2019
\n\"KussKuss, pictured here in the 2022 Tour, believes Visma can crack Poga\u010dar. (Photo: Chris Auld\/Velo)<\/p>\n

Visma insists that Vingegaard\u2019s Giro detour doesn\u2019t take anything away from the team\u2019s Tour ambitions. In fact, Visma sport manager Grischa Niermann stated emphatically that the yellow jersey remains the season\u2019s top goal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kuss knows any Tour de France ambition ultimately runs through Poga\u010dar, no easy ask considering how the Slovenian\u2019s been mowing down everyone over the past 24 months.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery year it gets more complicated, but it\u2019s about being very creative with tactics and looking for moments of weakness,\u201d Kuss said of Poga\u010dar. \u201cEvery rider has a point or moment of weakness, and it\u2019s about finding those situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visma has beaten Poga\u010dar before, but over the past two seasons, the Slovenian has been near untouchable.<\/p>\n

Last year, Visma adopted a grind-Poga\u010dar-down tactic in the opening 10 days that horribly backfired when it appeared that the entire team was so tired from effort<\/a> that no one could answer when the Slovenian attacked in the Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es.<\/p>\n

For Kuss, hope springs eternal at the start of every racing season.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn a summit finish, if [Poga\u010dar] arrives at the bottom of the climb in good position, sometimes it seems impossible to beat him,\u201d Kuss told Marca. \u201cWe have to go into every race believing we can beat him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kuss admits Poga\u010dar is a generational one-off, and like most in the peloton, looks at him with a mix of fear and admiration.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom 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,\u201d Kuss said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, Primo\u017e has won almost every race in the world, but he\u2019s still pushing himself and looking for more challenges. The same is true for Poga\u010dar. He\u2019s always looking for something more to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now 31, Kuss is entering his 10th season as one of Visma\u2019s most veteran and experienced captains. He\u2019s also settled in nicely into the European lifestyle and started a family with his Spanish wife and her extended family.<\/p>\n

His agenda remains the same: light up the climbs and help Vingeggaard take on Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n

And he\u2019ll be ready to pounce if and when the road opens up.<\/p>\n

\"SeppKuss celebrates victory in the 2023 Vuelta, the last U.S. rider to win one of cycling\u2019s grand tours. (Photo: Chris Auld\/Velo)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated January 16, 2026 07:42AM There\u2019s no identity crisis for Sepp Kuss at the opening of his 10th…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":413692,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[168574,49,48,635,54263,82,56902,57421,67671,54266,62850,54267],"class_list":["post-413691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-audio-true","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-parent_category-road","tag-sports","tag-tag-american-racing","tag-tag-jonas-vingegaard","tag-tag-sepp-kuss","tag-tag-tadej-pogacar","tag-tag-tour-de-france","tag-type-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/413692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}