If he makes it to the summit finish of Saturday's stage to Sierra de La Pandera, former Vuelta a España winner Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) will have made it through eight brutal weeks of Grand Tour racing already in 2026, with one week separating him from his second GT treble after 2023, the year he won the red jersey.
But according to the US rider, it's taken no extra toll on him physically or mentally, and in fact, not racing constantly at cycling's most brutal three-week races would be strange to him after so many years as a Grand Tour stalwart.
Just twice in his nine years in the WorldTour has Kuss raced one Grand Tour in a season, with doubling up the Tour de France and Vuelta his most favoured route. But with sweltering heat throughout Europe and speed records being broken at several races in 2026, Kuss has felt the fatigue add up at times, but it's a feeling he loves.
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"[Eight weeks of] Grand Tour racing is pretty good on the body, I would say. I mean, in a way, I don't know any different because I've done it before and I know how my body reacts," Kuss told Cyclingnews at the start of stage 13.
"Physically, I would say it's a good combination, a good recipe for me, but for sure this year, you know, every Grand Tour I've done, we've had every single day almost crazy fast. In the Tour de France, when you're on every day, and you never have a true easy day, then it adds up.
"And all of these efforts do add up, but for me, it's just the kind of racing I enjoy, whether I'm in the front or the back. I just love what I do and being in a Grand Tour, so that's the most important thing."
With his incredible endurance on show, Kuss has also managed to find a way around the sometimes boring and detached lifestyle of building up at altitude camp and being away from family and friends in the build-up to his biggest goals.
"It's hard being away, but if I count up the days, actually, doing this combination, I have much more time at home because in between each Grand Tour, I just stay at home," he said.
"I don't do any altitude or anything in the gap, and I just keep it simple. So you know, it's long periods at home, long periods away, but in the end, it's more time at home than I would in a normal season when you do training camp here, training camp there, race here, race there. So it works out pretty well."
The last time Sierra de La Pandera was included in the Vuelta's route was in 2022, a race which Kuss started but didn't finish, pulling out five days before its appearance on stage 14 – the same stage it will occupy tomorrow.
Perhaps this time, it will be Kuss who emerges on top, which would add a Vuelta stage to his Giro success from earlier in the year, and the two victories he already has from the Vuelta in 2023 and 2019.
How the race has changed after Pogačar's crash
Winning the Vuelta will always be Kuss' career highlight, but he's well in the running for another strong GC finish at this ongoing Vuelta, currently sat in eighth overall with the incoming high mountains set to suit his characteristics best. Noting how open things have become after Tadej Pogačar crashed out while leading the race on stage 8, Kuss is enjoying the more close-fought race.
"I think it's super entertaining. I mean, it's sad for the race and Pogačar that he's out, but I think it opened the door for a really open battle," said Kuss, who hasn't finished outside of the top 20 overall at a Grand Tour since winning the Vuelta, even while doing most of them as a super-domestique.
"Even in the peloton, it's exciting to see different riders finally getting their chance to do the race like they want to instead of just following. So no, it's cool. I think for the spectators as well, it's interesting to see, and I think it's going to be really open all the way until the end."
As someone who's raced nine Vueltas – and remains one of the most popular riders at every stage start in Spain, as a former winner, husband to a Catalan wife, Noemí Ferré, and Andorran resident just across the border – Kuss has had his fair share of experience racing the current race leader, Enric Mas (Movistar).
Impressed by both Mas' performance and his team's, Kuss couldn't help but be happy for his rival, whom he has helped the likes of Primož Roglič defeat in the past, but also having seen the near misses as a three-time runner-up.
"I see him with tons of confidence, and I think everyone in the peloton is happy to see him leading the race in the Vuelta because he's always been there but always just up against some rival that's better or has better luck," said Kuss.
"He's always there fighting, so I think, now that he sees this big opportunity, he and the team are rising to the occasion, and they're doing a great job so far."
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