Visma started the Vuelta a España with 3 GC hopefuls, but only one remains after the first mountain test

Visma | Lease a Bike tried to set the race on fire during the first mountain stage of the Vuelta a España. The Dutch team had Steven Kruijswijk attack right from the start, after which it sent several riders into the fray during the first climb. In the end, no one managed to break away, and the battle was fought out among the general classification contenders, with Sepp Kuss faring best from the Visma squad.

Kruijswijk made a breakaway attempt right from the start and took Kuss and the young Jorgen Nordhagen with him, among others, but they couldn’t pull away. Eventually, the quartet of Ben Tulett, Wout van Aert, Bruno Armirail, and Matthew Brennan did manage to break away, but the peloton reeled them in again on the Envilara and during the subsequent descent.

While Tulett and Nordhagen were unable to keep up with the best climbers, Kuss managed to do so in his home country of Andorra. “This performance gives me confidence for the rest of this Vuelta. It became clear early on that we’d be battling for second place, so the race unfolded differently,” said Kuss after the stage won by Tadej Pogacar.

"I started today's stage without too many expectations. I mainly wanted to see how it would go. My initial plan was to join the breakaway, but shortly after that I decided to go for a good result instead. Ultimately, I can be satisfied with this result, and I'm happy with my form. It was also great to race on roads I know very well,” says the American.

Kuss is currently in fourth place, while Tulett (19th, 8:44 behind) and Nordhagen (22nd, 9:26 behind) are still quite far from the top 10 and may need to change their strategy. Wednesday’s stage could suit Matthew Brennan and Wout van Aert well.