December 19, 2023 appears more likely to be a key day for Sepp Kuss’ 2024 season.
That night in Madrid, Kuss will uncover – together with the remainder of the biking world – what the 2024 route of the Vuelta a España might be. As soon as the final Grand Tour route of 2024 lastly turns into clear, all of a sudden the defending Vuelta champion Kuss and Jumbo-Visma could have a a lot better concept of what subsequent season will maintain for him.
The 2024 Giro d’Italia, gained by soon-to-be former teammate Primoz Roglič this Could, has already been dominated out by Kuss, as had the prospect of him racing all three Grand Excursions in a single 12 months, as he did in 2023.
If there had been any second ideas over Kuss‘ Giro participation, the gentler route by the mountains in comparison with 2023 – an ascent of the Stelvio however – and the inclusion of two medium-length time trials within the first 10 days, have certainly precipitated them to evaporate utterly.
That’s earlier than you even think about Wout van Aert’s curiosity in participating and the way which will have an effect on Jumbo-Visma’s gameplan and – no less than in response to senior DS Merijn Zeeman earlier this season – the crew rejecting any main GC ambitions on the Giro in favour of utilizing the race to check out their youthful riders. Whether or not Cian Uijtdebroeks is amongst these Jumbo riders stays to be seen, but it surely’s value noting that lengthy earlier than the latest eruption of his contract drama, he had already expressed a substantial amount of curiosity in participating within the Italian Grand Tour.
The query of how Kuss manages his efforts on the different Grand Excursions – particularly, what number of eggs he places into the respective 2024 Tour and 2024 Vuelta-shaped baskets, for those who like – stays up within the air, no less than for now. Even with Primoz Roglič now not within the image at Jumbo-Visma, the large step ahead Kuss took in final 12 months’s Vuelta makes it something however easy to place collectively precisely how he tackles two of the largest bike races on the earth in lower than three months.
“I feel the factor I am most trying ahead to goes to the Vuelta being the defending champion, and in addition going to the Tour and doing my greatest there, whether or not it is for myself or for Jonas,” Kuss mentioned this earlier this autumn. The underlying implication being that because the rider with the primary dorsal on his again in Lisbon subsequent August 17, he would mechanically have full-blown GC choices.
However think about for a second that the Vuelta 2024 route, when unveiled, truly features a pancake flat 40-kilometre time trial within the first week. Or that its common continuous succession of hill-top finishes doesn’t embody no less than three or 4 main mountain phases like within the 2023 race. Kuss’ choices of a repeat win total would drop, although not disappear, and his possibilities of making a extra severe GC bid within the Tour de France, presumably, improve because of this.
A Tour de France Plan ‘B’ for Jumbo-Visma?
However what if the Vuelta route for 2023 not solely confirms the extensively predicted stage end in Lagos de Covadonga, well-known not just for being a refuge for a number of the final wolves in western Europe but additionally second in Spain solely to the Angliru climb by way of issue? What if it additionally has a extremely powerful stage, say, by the Pyrenees or the sierras of Madrid? For a climber like Kuss, the attraction of difficult for a second Vuelta a España would all of a sudden be far higher once more.
That gained’t change the crew’s purpose to maintain him as excessive on the Tour de France GC for so long as doable after all – and Kuss will hardly need something completely different, provided that ending within the high 5 in Good can be a serious step up once more for the American by way of his GC potential. Nonetheless, with the Vuelta total at the back of his thoughts, his GC give attention to the Tour would maybe not be as full-blown.
There’s additionally the not-so-minor matter that within the Tour, Jumbo-Visma already has one excellent favorite within the form of Jonas Vingegaard, Secondly, the possibilities of taking two Grand Excursions in a single season for a crew, even one with three of their palmares in 2023 like Jumbo, are by no means to be sniffed at. Assuming Vingegaard is on monitor, then the Vuelta can be a extra life like and fascinating goal for Kuss, from a crew standpoint. Thirdly, the Tour de France route, with its ultimate time trial (and one other within the first week, to not point out a gravel stage that does no favours to climbers) is arguably extra beneficial to an allrounder like Vingegaard than it’s to Kuss -all of which pushes him again in the direction of the Vuelta once more.
Yet one more situation, although, is that Jumbo-Visma may effectively choose to go away any GC plans for the Vuelta for after the Tour. For now – although the lengthy build-up to July will inform us extra – Vingegaard’s standing as high favorite stays undiminished in 2024. However the disappearance of Roglič from the Jumbo-Visma roster, mixed with Remco Evenepoel’s long-anticipated debut within the Tour de France and the understanding that Tadej Pogačar (UAE Crew Emirates) might be again itching for sporting revenge will doubtless make the Tour a a lot more durable problem for the Dane than it was in 2023.
If Vingegaard (or Jumbo-Visma) lose the Tour then all of a sudden a repeat experience for Vuelta GC for the Dane – who has already completed second there, don’t let’s neglect – turns into much more doubtless. And Kuss’ function there as soon as once more may effectively change because of this.
A ‘luxurious’ drawback
Moreover, given the energy in depth of the opposition, Jumbo-Visma may effectively argue that there’s an excessive amount of at stake in July to go away a rider like Kuss out of their Tour GC plan, and ask him to be 100% rider to battle for yellow alongside Vingegaard. In spite of everything, the Vuelta a España confirmed how efficient Kuss was when in a position to experience within the shadow of his leaders quite than tackle all of the limelight from the outset.
The welter of potential eventualities is appreciable, though as Roglič likes to say, having a luxurious drawback like that is one that the majority groups heartily want they’d. That mentioned, the Vuelta presentation and what it reveals might be a key a part of resolving the ‘headache’ of getting two 2023 Grand Tour winners in the identical squad for 2024. We additionally know that Kuss is doing the Tour and the Vuelta and, after all, Vingegaard might be on the Tour.
It isn’t past the realms of chance that Jumbo-Visma (or Visma-Lease A Bike as they are going to be recognized in 2024) could effectively choose to maintain their precise crew and particular person technique concerning Kuss and Vingegaard and two of probably the most coveted titles in biking within the 2024 season below wraps, all over to the primary main mountain stage of the Tour de France no less than.
On the similar time, any doable reticence on Visma’s half to disclose their plans for Kuss will not cease the remainder of biking making an attempt to work them out from right here till July. Watch this house.