Kuss relies on his third-week feel at Vuelta: "Always different dynamics"

Visma | Lease a Bike leader Sepp Kuss enters the third and final Vuelta a España week as number twelve in the GC. The defending champion closed the second week on the very challenging Ciutu Negru well with an eighth place in the day's results, which also moved him from place fifteen to twelve in the GC. "Plenty of surprising things can still happen," he believes.

Kuss knows there is still room for improvement, he reveals in a report from his team on YouTube. "Usually, I find my good legs in the last week of a big tour. There is always a different dynamic in the third week, so that is the part of a grand tour I like best," the American stated.

"So I'm looking forward to that. It will be fascinating, and plenty of surprising things can still happen," says the climber from Durango. Kuss could not make his mark so far this Vuelta an España in an individual role but was crucial in Wout van Aert's second stage win in Cordoba.

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Niermann: "Last mountain stage will be crucial"

Sports director Grischa Niermann addressed him in the video during his massage. "With the legs you have now, you are competing with the best GC riders. That's good to see. You're still a minute and a half behind the top ten, but guys can still snap," predicts the sporting director.

"The last mountain stage will be a crucial one," the German refers to the stage of Picon Blanco. "There, we will still see guys going all-in, so we can still look up. But mostly, we should be happy that you still feel good," Niermann said.

Video: Kuss confident in final week of Vuelta a España