Jumbo Visma is dominating the Vuelta a España to such an extent that, barring surprise, the only unknown that remains to be resolved is in what order its three leaders are going to occupy the three podium boxes in Madrid. At the moment, Kuss, the one who usually acts as a supporter for Vingegaard and Roglic, is the one leading the classification. A leadership that his team does not give the feeling of wanting to protect, since on Tuesday in Bejes (Cantabria) Vingegaard attacked him and yesterday in Angliru Roglic did so. After the stage, the three of them spoke and each one has their own way of seeing what the end of the Spanish round will be like.
Sepp Kuss. “The three of us have freedom. On the rest day we had a meeting to analyze the possible situations in the race and we decided that the strongest has to win, and that, of course, we should not attack each other or put ourselves in danger. I am very happy, When I crossed the finish line I thought I had lost the red jersey, but I wasn’t even sad, I knew I had done my best on the climb. When I heard that I kept the red one I was surprised. Today (yesterday) I had strange feelings, but not in a bad way; I was at the front another day with my two teammates, and also friends. I think we had a good time, as much fun as you can have climbing Angliru! It’s been a crazy day, but day closer to victory. Halfway up Jonas Vingegaard told me: ‘you’re going to win’, and I thought… ‘we’ll see’. Landa probably deserved a podium place more than me, but I knew he would be very tight because of the jersey and I needed the bonus seconds. “It has been a very happy birthday, I have spent it doing what I enjoy most.”
Jonas Vingegaard. “Today’s victory (yesterday) was our main goal to maintain the situation of the first three in the general classification; I think everything went as we wanted and we can be happy with everything. To be honest, I am still happy that Sepp is with the red jersey and, to be honest, I hope Kuss keeps the red. I would love to see him win this Vuelta a España.”
Primoz Roglic. “I’m betting on myself, but Sepp is in red and I hope it’s him. But let’s see what happens. It was a strange moment when Kuss stayed. Who wins will be decided by our boss and will be the one with the best legs. We are all still together in the bus and at dinner. They are very sweet moments and we have a lot of fun.”
Marc Reef, director of Jumbo. “When Kuss got loose I told the three of them the differences they had and that they all had to fight. We had reached an agreement so that the three of them could compete. It was fair to do that also on the final climb, where everyone could have their chance, “That’s what happened. Kuss would get the red if Primoz Roglic won and Sepp finished third. That’s all we indicated. They made the decision up front and resolved it this way.”
The next battle will take place today in a new mountain stage in Asturias.
2023-09-14 02:00:42
#Roglic #battle #Jumbo #legs #win
