Jumbo-Visma’s finest hour – the Grand Tour grand slam – may well be where everything starts to head south, argues Felix Lowe
I f we all thought an unheard-of grand slam was a distinct possibility, few of us predicted it would be achieved with the first American winner of the Vuelta since Chris Horner in 2013. But there’s something apt in seeing the man so integral to both Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard’s respective Giro and Tour triumphs earlier this season become the final piece of Jumbo-Visma’s clean sweep jigsaw in Madrid.
Sepp Kuss has been instrumental in the team’s success over the years, not least by being ever-present for all six of his leaders’ combined Grand Tour victories. Since Roglič opened the floodgates at the Vuelta in 2019, the Dutch team have won seven of 13 major tours, amassing 33 stage wins in the process.
The latest landmark was much more than a triumph for a loyal team player; with Vingegaard and Roglič also in the wings, it marked the first time a team had occupied all three spots on the podium since 1966. Winning all three Grand Tours with three different riders also came off the back of memorable one-two-threes on the two most iconic climbs of the race: the Tourmalet and Angliru.
Yet any mention of the Angliru inevitably brings to the surface that potential PR own goal when Kuss was intentionally jettisoned by his leaders near the summit. Thankfully, the team came to its senses and Kuss was not deprived his magical moment, nor the team an arm-in-arm-in-arm photo op for posterity.
At what cost, however? Vingegaard could clearly have won, while Roglič admitted his displeasure at being muzzled – to the point that rumours of an early exit are rife. Soon to be 34 but contracted until 2025, Roglič is flattered by links with Movistar, Ineos Grenadiers and Lidl-Trek, but denies their veracity. Manager Richard Plugge has simply said, ‘Roglič is our king and the king is difficult to let go.’
But after winning four out of five stage races this season, along with ten stage wins, surely the king will expect a throne at the Tour next year. How will that sit with the Danish two-time champion? And will Kuss himself now push for a more prominent role at major races?
Then there’s the small matter of who’s going to keep paying Vingegaard’s hefty contract until 2027. Back in June, the new CEO of supermarket chain Jumbo announced an end to its sponsorship after 2024. ‘We have now won everything there is to win,��
