Sepp Kuss admits 2024 Vuelta a Espana is 'different' as he prepares for Primoz Roglic battle - 'No one else to help'
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Published 15/08/2024 at 22:44 GMT+1
The final Grand Tour of the 2024 season is just around the corner, and all eyes will be on the general classification battle. Defending champion Sepp Kuss is expected to battle it out with former team-mate Primoz Roglic, and the American admitted "this year is different" after overcoming Roglic last year while they were on the same side. "There's no one else to help or fall back on," Kuss said.
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Vuelta a Espana champion Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) says “this year is different” as he anticipates a challenge from former team-mate Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) for the red jersey in Spain.
The third and final Grand Tour of the season gets under way in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday, live on Eurosport and discovery+, and American rider Kuss is looking to defend his surprise 2023 title.
Last year, Kuss finished ahead of big-name team-mates Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard to top the general classification, but this time around, the Slovenian - a three-time Vuelta winner - is a rival riding for another team.
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“This year without main GC riders like them (Roglic and Vingegaard), it's different for me,” Kuss told reporters.
Kuss continued: “I wouldn't say there's more pressure, but there's no one else to help or fall back on like two of the best GC riders in the world. It just gives a different focus to the race.”
Roglic won three consecutive Vuelta titles with Jumbo-Visma between 2019 and 2021, but the 34-year-old switched teams ahead of the 2024 season.
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“It is always strange when you're used to being with someone in the team for so long, and then racing against them,” Kuss said.
“It's a good relationship, now we're competitors. Any race he's in, he’s one of the main favourites. So I'm sure everyone will be looking towards him.”
Kuss’s triumph in 2023 was the pinnacle of a remarkable season in which he rose from being a domestique to a Grand Tour champion.
He also helped Jumbo-Visma become the first team to win all three Grand Tours in a single season and became the first American to win the Vuelta since Chris Horner in 2013.
“It was really special, especially when I zoom out a bit and see what it means for US riders,” Kuss said.
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“I don't think it changed me too much as a person. Of course, when you have success in sports, then it always gives more expectation or more focus on you.
“It's nice to have the recognition. I think in some ways that makes it harder, but it's always [about] finding a balance.”
This year, things have been trickier for Kuss, who had to miss the Tour de France through illness.
However, he bounced back in style last week by winning the Vuelta a Burgos to head into La Vuelta in a confident mood.
“I think the form is pretty good. I was a bit surprised to be good already in Burgos,” he said.
“It's nice when it works out without expecting it. So for sure, it's a mental boost. But it's always different in a Grand Tour. Most importantly, I feel pretty fresh for this race.”
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On missing the Tour, he added: “I was incredibly fatigued for many weeks. It took a while for the lungs to feel good or normal again. I couldn't even have imagined just trying to start the Tour.
“I was not in a state to really think of it as a possibility, which was, of course, really disappointing. But luckily all the complications went away, and now I feel normal.”
You can watch every day of the 2024 Vuelta a Espana live and on-demand on discovery+
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