Stage winner Kuss speaks of pre-planned strategy: "Wanted to test Soudal-Quick Step"

"It was an incredibly tough stage," says a happy Kuss in the flash interview. "We wanted to be in the breakaway to test Quick Step. That was our main goal because we knew controlling would be difficult. Dylan, Atilla and Jan (Van Baarle, Valter and Tratnik, ed.) from the team were also along. That was perfect; I have to thank them for all the work they did. The whole day I felt super, super good. I was just focused on when to make my attack. Throughout the climb, I was enjoying the scenery; the Vuelta is a very special race for me."

Prior to the Vuelta, Roglic and Vingegaard—who gained time on their competitors in the stage—also named Kuss as a favorite for the overall win, but whether the two were completely serious is doubtful. "No, no," Kuss laughs it off when confronted. "For me, winning a stage is amazing. I don't exactly know where I stand in the classification, but I'm taking it day by day. I'm going to enjoy this first."

Kuss competes against the son of a mountain bike legend

Kuss fell eight seconds short for the red jersey, which went to the very young Lenny Martinez. As a former mountain biker, the name Martinez is not unknown to him. "I've heard of his father (Yannick Martinez, former Olympic champion, ed.). Durango (Kuss's birthplace, ed.) is a place of mountain bike legends. My former coach always gave us pictures of famous mountain bikers, including Lenny's father. "It's really nice to race with his son, but it also makes me realize how much younger these young guys are," Kuss concludes with a laugh.