America's Rising Star

Sepp Kuss has quickly established himself as one of the peloton’s best climbers. Peter Cossins charts the American’s rise from obscurity

- Peter Cossins

Although Jumbo-Visma ultimately came up just short at the Tour de France in their quest to capture the yellow jersey as a consequence of Tadej Pogaar’s astonishing coup in the La Planche des Belles Filles time trial, no one could question the Dutch team’s dominance in almost every other phase of the race. Their supremacy was particularly evident in the mountains, where team leader Primo Rogli and his cohort of domestiques were in control throughout, with Wout van Aert and Sepp Kuss their star performers.

Three-time world cyclo-cross champion and winner this year of Milan-San Remo, van Aert needs little introduction. Kuss, though, is not as well known. Four years ago, the American was studying advertising at the University of Colorado in Boulder and was primarily a mountain biker. Yet, over the course of a season and a half with the Rally Cycling team and three more with Jumbo-Visma, the 26-year-old has emerged as one of the pre-eminent climbers in the sport. His talent in the mountains is so impressive that several teams are rumoured to be interested in securing his services when his current deal runs out at the end of next season.

Hidden gem

Winner of the final stage at the Critérium du Dauphiné, where he was arguably the strongest climber, and 15th overall in a support role at the Tour, where his commitment to Rogli was strikingly unflagging, Kuss is laidback and engaging. He is, according to his former team-mates at Rally and current colleagues at Jumbo, upbeat and confident. “He has a positive attitude that’s infectious,” says Rally directeur sportif Jonas Carney. “It’s hard to describe, but he’s just one of those guys that brings a lot of positive energy to a team.”