In the ‘The Move’ podcast, Johan Bruyneel expressed his opinion on the 6th stage of the Vuelta, which proved to be highly explosive and crucial for the overall classification of the competition. Among the various aspects of the race, the Belgian addressed Remco Evenepoel, Sepp Kuss, and the Jumbo-Visma team.
“They didn’t give away the jersey; they lost it,” he said about Soudal – Quick-Step and Remco Evenepoel. “You can never, ever let a leading group of forty riders escape. That’s crazy; there’s no way to control that. No way. Fortunately, they still had help from Movistar and INEOS; otherwise, that group with Sepp Kuss would have disappeared. If he gets more than ten minutes, how do you recover from that?”
Remco Evenepoel had previously stated that he didn’t mind giving the jersey to someone in the breakaway, but perhaps his statement led many others to try. This resulted in a group of 42 cyclists, including nearly half of the Top 20 riders present.
“If Kuss escapes, he can win the Vuelta in the mountains. The Vuelta could also be in danger for Evenepoel, but we also have to ask ourselves if Jumbo-Visma would be comfortable with Kuss in that position,” Bruyneel wonders. “They have no guarantee he’ll be able to hold the Vuelta for three weeks as a general classification rider.”
“I’m very impressed with Kuss. He’s making a difference in that team, I’m sure they knew he could be well-prepared. He will be crucial again.”
“By the way, Louis Vervaeke did a great job, while Evenepoel himself managed to limit his losses in the end. I was surprised he was dropped in the attacks, but he recovered well,” he concludes.