2023-09-07 22:45:00
Only a few would have thought it possible that tour dominator Jonas Vingegaard would be seen as a water carrier less than a month and a half following his triumph on the Champs-Elysees. But on the 12th stage of the Vuelta 2023, the 26-year-old Dane presented himself in an unfamiliar role.
“You rarely see that,” commented Eurosport expert Jens Voigt: 102 kilometers from the finish, Vingegaard was following the peloton. The two-time winner of the Tour of France had drinking bottles for his team with him. On his way forward he picked up his jumbo teammate Sepp Kuss and rode back to the front alongside the man in the red jersey.
The American grabbed a bottle from the back of Wasserholer Vingegaard. “It’s really great,” Kuss joked in an interview with Eurosport following the stage regarding the twisted role distribution. Jens Voigt got enthusiastic regarding the “beautiful snapshot”: “The reigning Tour winner, one of the best racers of his generation, unselfishly puts his drinking bottles in his pocket and drives them to the front. I love cycling.”
Until now, Kuss has always been subordinate to the two superstars Primoz Roglic and Vingegaard as noble helpers. Last July he led the Dane to his second tour success in a row. Also for the Tour of Spain he should help the Jumbo Star double leadership to overthrow defending champion Remco Evenepoel.
Kiss turns duo into trio
But on the leg to Zaragoza on Thursday, the 28-year-old wore the overall leader’s jersey for the fourth time in a row. Reversed roles at Jumbo-Visma? “I’ve been demoted to the water carrier,” joked Vingegaard at the Danish “TV 2 Sports”but immediately explained how his special role came regarding.
Highlights: Roglic is gaining ground in Groves’ shadow
“My radio didn’t work,” said Vingegaard, who therefore dropped to the team car – and then packed water bottles on the way back. Nevertheless, the scene 102 kilometers from the finish in Zaragoza had a certain symbolic character.
At the latest since the time trial in Valladolid, when Kuss surprisingly lost only 53 seconds to Roglic and eleven seconds to Vingegaard, the jumbo double developed into a triple. “Sepp is getting the feeling that it’s possible” to win the Vuelta, teammate Robert Gesink hinted at the leader’s new self-confidence before the start of the stage: “The key is that he stays relaxed.”
Trio with potential for conflict?
Kuss still gets support from the two grandees in the Dutch team. “Jonas and Primoz gave me a lot of advice and self-confidence in the race,” said the overall leader and emphasized the unity in the racing team. “It’s nice that they also believe in me,” he explained, but added meaningfully: “At certain times.”
Water carrier Vingegaard? Kiss: “We are all there for each other”
In an exclusive interview with Eurosport.de on the rest day, Voigt explained that the special situation with three leaders might offer potential for conflict. The constellation might bring a certain disagreement, “because of course, when you’re in the red jersey as a helper, you secretly dream of taking the overall victory home with you.”
But the new and unexpected role in particular might become a problem for Kuss, as Voigt explained in the live commentary. “He’s very strong, but he came as a helper. That’s a completely different attitude than Roglic, a different mindset. You can’t change that easily,” said the 51-year-old: “I think Roglic is the sole captain doesn’t matter what other people say.”
Roglic sets a scent mark in front of Zaragoza
So is the consensus at Jumbo deceptive? In particular, the three-time Vuelta winner Roglic, who gave way to the Tour Vingegaard and had to give up the Tour of Spain following a fall last year, has his sights set on overall victory.
Sepp Kuss leads the overall standings at the 2023 Vuelta
Fotocredit: Getty Images
The Slovenian made his mark 18.7 kilometers from the finish in Zaragoza. In the intermediate sprint, he clamped onto the rear wheel of sprint star Kaden Groves and finished second, collecting four bonus seconds in the overall standings.
No significant gain in time, but above all a clear pointer – both in the direction of Evenepoel, but also in the direction of his teammate. “It’s nice to gain some time,” said the 33-year-old, revealing that the attack wasn’t part of the Jumbo plans: “But then I was there. We’ll see how important that is.”
Unity in the fight once morest Evenepoel
Despite the loss of time, Kuss was happy with his teammate: “It never hurts to try.” In any case, the American tried to emphasize that there was unity in the team. “We’re all there for each other, that’s the most important thing,” said Kuss.
Roglic: Attack in the intermediate sprint “wasn’t the plan”
Precisely because both Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and the UAE trio of Marc Soler, Juan Ayuso and Joao Almeida are at least within striking distance of the competition in the overall standings.
But the jumbo trio is currently enthroned in first, fourth and seventh place – and thus has a decisive advantage: “No matter who of the three gets through, Jumbo is always the winner,” Voigt explained in an interview on Monday.
Vingegaard back at the Tourmalet
The Dutch team might make the first attempt on the next exclamation mark on Friday. At the start of three difficult stages, the peloton starts on the queen stage of the Vuelta 2023 to the notorious Col du Tourmalet. “Tomorrow there will be greater distances,” Kuss hinted and once once more focused on the team structure: “We still have the three of us up there.”
The “degraded” noble helper Vingegaard, who is the only driver from the jumbo trio to date who has not been able to win a section and is 2:22 minutes behind in the overall standings, has almost faded into the background between Kuss and Roglic in the past few days.
A few weeks ago, Vingegaard conquered the yellow jersey at the Tour de France on the Tourmalet of all places – and did not take it off until the Champs-Elysees. It is quite possible that the Dane will make his first real attack on the Tour of Spain on Friday.
Vingegaard will hardly appear as a water carrier in the Pyrenees.
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