After being ruled out of the Tour de France with COVID-19, Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) makes his return to racing at the Vuelta a Burgos today on August 5 before defending his Vuelta a España title later this month.
Kuss hasn’t raced since the Critérium du Dauphiné in June where he struggled with his illness and had to abandon ahead of the final stage after looking well away from his best, with participation in Burgos this week all about re-finding his race rhythm.
“I feel good. It took me a while to recover from my illness, but my preparation for this period went smoothly. Unfortunately, riding the Tour was not possible for me, but the altitude training in Tignes with some teammates did me well,” said Kuss on Visma’s website.
“The Vuelta a Burgos is a perfect preparation for the Vuelta a España. We ride on similar roads and in the same warm weather conditions. Some challenging stages await in which I want to show myself, but the main goal for me is to gain race rhythm.”
Visma, who won all three Grand Tours in 2023, will be looking to bounce back at the Vuelta after missing out at the Tour de France with Jonas Vingegaard, despite his miraculous recovery. Their stacked Vuelta team will include Wout van Aert, with the Belgian confirming his participation following the road race at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“I hope that I will be able to finish the race with a good feeling and that I can add the final touches towards the Tour of Spain,” said Kuss.
Kuss’ pursuit of a second red jersey begins on August 17 with a time trial in Lisbon, Portugal, with the finale in Madrid arriving on September 8.
Joining Kuss for his final preparations at the Vuelta a Burgos will be a strong team of Cian Uijtdebroeks, Ben Tulett, Johannes Staune-Mittet, Robert Gesink, Julien Vermote and Edoardo Affini. They'll have the likes of Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) and Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek) to contend with for the GC in northern Spain.
Young GC talent Uijtdebroeks has raced only once since pulling out of the Giro d’Italia due to sickness while sitting fifth on GC, so will look for good form ahead of a possible Vuelta a España start alongside his American leader.
“Besides Sepp, Cian Uijtdebroeks also had a rest and training period. They were both able to prepare very well in Tignes. We definitely want to get a fine result, but our main goal is to leave the race with a good feeling,” said DS Marc Reef.
“We see the Vuelta a Burgos as the ultimate incentive towards our bigger goal. In addition, young riders like Ben Tulett and Johannes Staune-Mittet will get their chance to show themselves.”
The Vuelta a Burgos runs for five stages from August 5 to 9, with the classic Lagunas de Neila summit finish coming on stage 3.
