The margins between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar remain wafer thin as this Tour de France passes its midway point, with just 17 seconds separating the top two in the overall standings and even less dividing them in any notional power ranking.
Vingegaard has the jersey, but Pogačar has the momentum. Pogačar has the individual virtuosity, but Vingegaard has the team. Any argument in favour of one, in other words, finds a compelling counterargument in support of his rival.
Sepp Kuss, perhaps the most valuable mountain domestique in professional cycling, will be a key factor in Vingegaard's attempts to tip the scales of this eternal debate, particularly once the race returns to high altitude with a summit finish on the Grand Colombier on Friday ahead of a weekend doubleheader in the Alps.
The American already showcased his gifts by teeing up Vingegaard's searing attack on the Col de Marie Blanque on stage 5 to Laruns before shredding the yellow jersey group apart on the Col du Tourmalet the following afternoon. After the breathless racing in the Pyrenees and Massif Central, however, Kuss believes the Tour will enter a new phase at altitude this coming weekend, where sheer endurance might start to prove more decisive than sharp explosiveness.
"I think with all the added fatigue, the Alps can be a big difference maker," Kuss told reporters in Clermont-Ferrand ahead of stage 11. "For sure there'll be more stages with climbs throughout the stage. Until now, it's been more or less explosive, I would say. So with the added fatigue and multi-mountain stages, it going to be a different race, I think."
Twelve months ago, Pogačar just about had the better of Vingegaard during a punchy opening week, but the Dane would outlast him decisively on the Tour's most arduous mountain stages. While plenty in the peloton would take understandable exception to Kuss' assertion that this Tour hasn't really had a full-blown mountain stage yet, it is true that the troika of demanding days at the end of the second week mark a different kind of test to those faced by Pogačar and Vingegaard to this point.
"They're really evenly matched until now, but like I said, we haven't really had a true high mountain stage yet," Kuss said. "That's where I think Jonas feels comfortable and it's what he looks forward to."
That kind of terrain, of course, is also where Kuss is at his most effective. At May's Giro d'Italia, for instance, he effectively rescued Primož Roglič's challenge with a race-defining stint of pace-making on Monte Bondone. When Roglič rode into Rome in the pink jersey five days later, it marked the fifth time Kuss had helped a Jumbo-Visma teammate to overall victory in a Grand Tour.
Kuss' role is a familiar one, but this combination of Giro and Tour is new. He was a late addition to Roglic's supporting cast at the corsa rosa due to an injury to Wilco Kelderman, but his importance to Vingegaard's cause means he is the only Jumbo-Visma rider to line out in both Italy and France this summer.
"It feels good so far, I think the Giro was good preparation for the Tour," said Kuss. "I still have the racing rhythm from there and I did some nice long stages, so that was endurance training and then some interval training. So far so good."
Indeed, Kuss still finds himself 10th at 6:45 as the Tour enters its second half, a detail that might add additional nuance to his role. His key duty remains that of Vingegaard's final sherpa in the high mountains, but his position in the overall standings carries a degree of strategic value, not least with early climbs likely to splinter the bunch at the weekend.
"When the start is so hard, given where I'm at in GC right now, I can always be used to attack or go up the road if there's a good move. It's definitely handy when things get crazy like I'm sure they will in some of these uphill starts," said Kuss.
"You never know what kind of situation you'll be in and whether it helps out someone ahead. I think on paper the main priority is focusing on Jonas, but the race can unfold in strange new ways."
