Sepp Kuss facts for kids
Kuss at the 2023 Vuelta a España
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| Personal information | |||
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| Nickname | The Eagle of Durango The Mailman The Durango Kid |
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| Born | September 13, 1994 Durango, Colorado |
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| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Weight | 61 kg (134 lb; 9 st 8 lb) | ||
| Team information | |||
| Current team | Visma–Lease a Bike | ||
| Discipline | Road | ||
| Role | Rider | ||
| Rider type | Climber Super-domestique |
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| Major wins | |||
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Sepp Kuss (born September 13, 1994) is an American professional cyclist. He rides for the top cycling team, Team Visma–Lease a Bike. In 2023, he made history by winning the 2023 Vuelta a España, which is one of cycling's biggest races, called a Grand Tour. He was the first American to win a Grand Tour since 2013.
Sepp Kuss is also known for being a "super-domestique". This means he is a very strong support rider for his team leaders, like Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard. He helped them win many Grand Tours. Kuss has also won individual stages in major races, including the Tour de France (2021) and the Vuelta a España (2019, 2023). His victory in the 2023 Vuelta a España helped his team achieve an amazing feat: winning all three Grand Tours in one season!
Contents
Early Life and Sports Beginnings
Sepp Kuss was born on September 13, 1994, in Durango, Colorado. His parents, Adolph and Sabina Kuss, were both involved in sports. His father coached the United States Ski Team and taught about exercise science. His mother taught Nordic skiing.
Growing up, Sepp enjoyed many outdoor sports. These included trail running, skiing, and whitewater kayaking. His favorite sport as a child was ice hockey. In fourth grade, he joined Durango Devo, a youth mountain bike program. This program has helped many talented cyclists get their start. Sepp decided to focus on cycling during his last year of high school.
Amateur Cycling Career
Mountain Biking Success
In 2013, Sepp Kuss went to the University of Colorado Boulder. He continued to ride mountain bikes there. He won three national titles in college cycling championships. These wins were in cross-country (2014 and 2015) and short track (2014). He also competed in international races.
Sepp once said that cross-country mountain biking was "his thing." But he also enjoyed road races. He wanted to see how far he could go in cycling after finishing his degree.
Switching to Road Cycling
Over time, Sepp Kuss started to focus more on road cycling. He joined an amateur team in 2015. He found that the longer, steeper climbs in road cycling suited his skills better than mountain biking.
In 2016, Kuss decided to fully focus on road cycling. He trained more and adjusted to the different style of road racing. He got his first big win at the Redlands Bicycle Classic. He surprised many by winning a tough mountain stage. This win caught the attention of professional teams. Soon after, he signed with a professional team called Rally Cycling.
Professional Cycling Journey
Starting with Rally Cycling (2016-2017)
Sepp Kuss quickly showed his talent with Rally Cycling. In his first big race with them, the Tour de Beauce in Canada, he won a mountain stage. He also finished sixth overall. He then went to Europe for his first international road races. He found European racing very tough, both physically and mentally.
In 2017, Kuss continued to impress. He finished tenth on a difficult climb at the 2017 Tour of California. This caught the eye of a director from a big team, LottoNL-Jumbo. Kuss had more strong results, including finishing second overall at the Tour of Alberta. Just after his 23rd birthday, he signed a two-year contract with LottoNL-Jumbo. This meant he would be racing at the highest level of cycling, the UCI WorldTour, starting in 2018. It was an amazing jump from college mountain biking to the top of road cycling in just two years!
Joining LottoNL-Jumbo (2018-Present)
Learning the Ropes (2018–2019)
Sepp Kuss had a tough start in his first season with LottoNL-Jumbo. He had to get used to the fast pace of WorldTour racing. But in August 2018, he returned to the US for the 2018 Tour of Utah. He was incredible there! He attacked on stages, riding alone to win three stages. He also won the overall race and the mountains jersey. It was a truly dominant performance.
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After his success in Utah, Kuss was chosen to ride in the 2018 Vuelta a España. This was his first Grand Tour. He rode as a domestique, which means he supported his team leader, Steven Kruijswijk, in the mountains. In 2019, Kuss rode in the 2019 Giro d'Italia, helping Primož Roglič finish third. Later that year, he returned to the Vuelta a España. On stage 15, he attacked from a group and rode solo to win his first Grand Tour stage! He also helped Roglič win the overall race. This showed that Kuss was a key mountain helper for Roglič.
Becoming a Super-Domestique (2020–2022)
In 2020, Sepp Kuss won a stage at the 2020 Critérium du Dauphiné. He then rode in his first Tour de France. He became known as a "super-domestique." This means he was incredibly strong at helping his team leader, Roglič, deep into the toughest mountain climbs. Kuss finished 15th overall, the best result for an American in the Tour since 2015. He continued to help Roglič win the 2020 Vuelta a España for the second year in a row.
In 2021, Kuss rode the 2021 Tour de France again. On stage 15, he broke away from a group and won the stage! It was the first Tour de France stage win for an American since 2011. Kuss, who lives in Andorra, knew the climb well from his training.
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During the 2021 Vuelta a España, Kuss helped Roglič win his third straight Vuelta title. Kuss himself finished eighth overall, his first top 10 finish in a Grand Tour. In 2022, Kuss supported Jonas Vingegaard at the 2022 Tour de France. Even after some teammates crashed out, Kuss was crucial in helping Vingegaard win the overall race.
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Grand Tour Champion (2023–Present)
In 2023, Sepp Kuss had an amazing year. He helped Roglič win the 2023 Giro d'Italia. Then, in July, he helped Vingegaard win his second straight Tour de France title. This was the sixth time Kuss had helped a team leader win a Grand Tour!
In August 2023, Kuss started the 2023 Vuelta a España. This was his third Grand Tour of the year! His team, Jumbo-Visma, was trying to make history by winning all three Grand Tours in one season. On stage 6, Kuss attacked and won the stage, moving into second place overall. Two days later, he took the lead of the race. Even though his teammates, Vingegaard and Roglič, were also strong, Kuss managed to hold onto his lead. He successfully defended his lead to win the entire race!
His victory was historic. He became the first cyclist since 1957 to ride all three Grand Tours in one year and win one of them. He was also the fourth American to win a Grand Tour. His win completed Team Jumbo-Visma's incredible sweep of all three Grand Tours in a single season, which was a first in cycling history.
In 2024, Kuss won a stage and the overall title at the 2024 Vuelta a Burgos. He also competed in the 2024 Vuelta a España, finishing 14th. For the 2025 season, Kuss and his team announced that he would return to his "super-domestique" role. He felt this role suited him best after the pressures of being a team leader.
Personal Life
Sepp Kuss has Slovenian and Italian family roots. His great-grandparents moved from Europe to Colorado in the 1800s.
In 2022, Kuss married Noemí Ferré Fernández, who is a former professional cyclist from Spain. They live in Andorra, a popular place for cyclists because of its famous climbs. In 2024, Sepp and Noemí welcomed their first child, a daughter named Martina. Kuss also speaks German.
Major Results
Mountain Bike
- 2014
- National Collegiate Championships
- 1st
Cross-country - 1st Short track
- 1st
- 2015
- 1st Cross-country, National Collegiate Championships
Road Cycling
Sources:
- 2016
- 1st Stage 2 Redlands Bicycle Classic
- 6th Overall Tour de Beauce
- 1st Stage 2
- 2017
- 2nd Overall Tour of Alberta
- 6th Overall Colorado Classic
- 8th Overall Tour of the Gila
- 9th Overall Tour of Utah
- 2018 (4 pro wins)
- 1st
Overall Tour of Utah
- 1st
Mountains classification - 1st Stages 2, 5 & 6
- 1st
- 2019 (1)
- 1st Stage 15 Vuelta a España
- 5th Japan Cup
- 2020 (1)
- 8th Overall Tour de la Provence
- 10th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné
- 1st Stage 5
- Vuelta a España
- Held
after Stage 1
- Held
- 2021 (1)
- 1st Stage 15 Tour de France
- 8th Overall Vuelta a España
- Held after Stages 1 & 2
- Held
- 2022
- 1st Stage 1 (TTT) Vuelta a España
- 3rd Faun-Ardèche Classic
- 2023 (2)
- 1st
Overall Vuelta a España
- 1st Stage 6
- 5th Overall UAE Tour
- 2024 (2)
- 1st
Overall Vuelta a Burgos
- 1st Stage 3
- 1st
Mountains classification, Tour of the Basque Country - 6th Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior
- 8th Overall Volta ao Algarve
Grand Tour Results
| Grand Tour general classification results | ||||||||
| Grand Tour | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro d'Italia |
— | 56 | — | — | — | 14 | — | — |
| Tour de France |
— | — | 15 | 32 | 17 | 12 | — | 17 |
| Vuelta a España |
65 | 29 | 16 | 8 | DNF | 1 | 14 | |
| Major stage race general classification results | ||||||||
| Race | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| Paris–Nice |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
 Tirreno–Adriatico |
— | — | — | — | 68 | — | — | — |
 Volta a Catalunya |
— | DNF | NH | 12 | — | 19 | 13 | 23 |
| Tour of the Basque Country |
DNF | 95 | — | DNF | — | 41 | DNF | |
| Tour de Romandie |
— | — | 14 | 12 | — | — | — | |
 Critérium du Dauphiné |
34 | 26 | 10 | 23 | — | — | DNF | 13 |
| Tour de Suisse |
— | — | NH | — | DNF | — | — | |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| NH | Race not held |
| DNF | Did not finish |
See also
In Spanish: Sepp Kuss para niños
