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Sean Kelly is absolutely not impressed with Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard

Legendary cyclist thinks they aren’t being fair to Sepp Kuss at the Vuelta

Sean Kelly is absolutely not impressed with Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard Photo by: Vuelta A Espana/Twitter
September 13, 2023
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Another day, another show of dominance by Jumbo-Visma… but some aren’t impressed with Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard, including the great Sean Kelly. The 2023 Vuelta a España has unfolded in an unusual manner, marked by the Dutch team’s remarkable dominance, which has led to unconventional moments where teammates make moves against the current red jersey holder.

Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič take off

During Wednesday’s challenging Angliru summit finish, race leader Sepp Kuss watched as his teammates, Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič, surged ahead of him. Despite this, Kuss fought back to maintain his position at the top of the general classification. Roglič secured victory in two consecutive stages, adding to the team’s impressive tally of five stage wins. As a result, the trio still holds the top three positions in the overall standings. Kuss, however, is just eight seconds ahead of the Dane, and just over a minute in front of the Slovenian. Although the riders are getting closer to Madrid every day, Thursday and Saturday’s stages have some climbs in them, so the race is far from over.

Kuss held onto the wheels of his two teammates until just under 2 km to go, where he apparently told Roglič and Vingegaard to go for it. And that they did. Kuss dropped away and rode with Mikel Landa. At one point, Kuss was 24 seconds behind the Jumbo duo, but by the time he crossed the line, the deficit was only 19 seconds.

Sean Kelly speaks about Kuss and his loyalty

After the race, Sean Kelly, one of the greatest classics riders in history, minced no words about how the race went. “I think they went harder when they knew Kuss was getting distanced. I think it’s unfair, considering how loyal Kuss has been to those two riders over many years,” he began. He then pointed out that Kuss himself let his teammates know he couldn’t follow the wheels, but they kept going, despite the fact that the three of them essentially had already won the stage.

Watch the full clip below: