Kuss explains why Vingegaard is not defeated yet: "That’s where he can make the difference"

Kuss has been virtually invisible in the Tour de France so far. The American is still nowhere near the form he showed when he won the Vuelta in 2023. But the 30-year-old climber believes everything is evolving according to plan. “It's going well. I took another step forward in my preparation in the Dauphiné, which was very useful,” he told Spanish newspaper AS.

The 44th place on the Mur de Bretagne was the best result of the Tour so far for the man from Colorado. But that's not surprising, he explains. As is often the case, the focus of his domestique work will come later in the race. “My main task is in the mountains. In the first stages, it's difficult for me to stay at the front. My work there was more under the radar, getting as far forward as I could.” Kuss was always at his best in the final week of the Tours, won by team leader Vingegaard.

That's where he has to perform well again now. Vingegaard is facing a deficit, but that's no reason to panic. Super domestique Kuss knows that opportunities will arise in the high mountains. "This is a three-week race. It's very different from what we saw in the Dauphiné. The Alps will be a test of endurance, and that's where Jonas can make the difference. If there's one rider stronger than him, then those strategies aren't so important, but we also have to use the strength of the team."

Matteo Jorgenson acts as a kind of second leader at Visma | Lease a Bike, while Kuss will do the pure domestique work in the Alps and Pyrenees alongside Simon Yates. The Brit won the Giro d'Italia earlier this year: it was the first Grand Tour the team had won without Kuss since he joined in 2018. “I was jealous of my teammates,” he smiles. “I followed the race closely from home.”