Sepp Kuss will change his plans for the season, being drafted into Jumbo-Visma's Giro d'Italia squad after the recent injuries sustained by Wilco Kelderman.
Kelderman had been set to ride as principal domestique for Giro leader Primož Roglič but crashed out of last month's Tirreno-Adriatico and has now been forced to miss the team's current altitude training camp in Tenerife.
That has caused Jumbo-Visma to pull him from the squad and seek a replacement, with US climber Kuss being drafted in to make the second Giro appearance of his career.
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"Unfortunately, Wilco's crash in Tirreno-Adriatico has had the necessary consequences. He is currently not fit enough to take part in our altitude training," said Jumbo-Visma's head of performance, Mathieu Heijboer.
"This means that he will not be optimally prepared for the start of the Giro, so he will be replaced. A difficult decision, but the only right one. It's better to decide early than to find out too late that it won't work."
Kuss had been set to ride the Tour de France alongside Jonas Vingegaard, which could yet happen. However, the first major appointment of his season will now be to support his old ally Roglič in Italy.
Kuss was there in 2019 when Roglič placed third overall at the Giro, and has gone on to ride six Grand Tours with the Slovenian, including all three of his Vuelta a España victories.
"Sepp Kuss will take Wilco's place. Very few riders can ride with the best as a domestique. We put Sepp in that category," said Heijboer.
"He can be a decisive factor in the high mountains. With Sepp, Primoz has an absolute top domestique who can stand by him for a long time. He has already demonstrated this several times during the Tour and the Vuelta. They are a good duo. Although losing Wilco is undoubtedly a setback, we'll be as strong with Sepp."
Kelderman now looks set to switch to a Tour de France programme, with an altitude training camp in Sierra Nevada in May and the Tour de Suisse in June. Kuss, meanwhile, has often ridden the Vuelta after the Tour so has experience doubling up on Grand Tours.
The other members of the Giro squad are: Tobias Foss, Robert Gesink, Jan Tratnik, Koen Bouwman, Edoardo Affini, and Michel Hessman. Also joining those riders in Tenerife is young British neo-pro Thomas Gloag, who's gaining experience but also appears to be on the Giro longlist as a reserve rider for a possible Grand Tour debut in his first pro season.
Roglič will be the clear leader in Italy, having started the season in storming fashion with wins at Tirreno and Volta a Catalunya, despite his injury troubles last season.
"Primož has once again astounded us, as he often does," said Heijboer. "In December, we believed that he needed time to return to his peak performance. Now we are confident that he will reach that level in the Giro. Any doubts we had vanished in March."
