Durango’s Sepp Kuss will not be racing in road cycling’s most famous race for the next month, his team Visma-Lease a Bike announced on Tuesday. Kuss has not recovered fully from a COVID-19 infection he had that caused him to struggle at the Critérium du Dauphiné in early June. He was 54th after the seventh stage before he pulled out of the race after struggling with COVID-19 symptoms.
Kuss was initially included in the team’s lineup for the Tour de France but the team and Kuss decided he was not fit enough to race.
“Bummed to miss out on the TdF this year after struggling with COVID complications now for a few weeks,” Kuss wrote on Instagram on Wednesday. “The team gave me all the possible time to recover as well as I could, but my body just still isn’t ready to be where it needs to be for a race like the Tour. Will miss being on the road with all the guys for three weeks, but will be supporting full-on from home while refocusing on the next part of the season. Good luck guys!”
The reigning Vuelta a España champion has been one of the top domestiques in the Tour the last few years and has been essential for his team Visma-Lease a Bike and his teammate Jonas Vingegaard, who is going for his third consecutive Tour de France win this year.
Kuss will be replaced by 28-year-old Dutch rider Bart Lemmen, a rider described as proficient in climbs who is reliable and will sacrifice for Vingegaard.
“This is of course very hard for Sepp in the first place,” Team Visma Lease a Bike Sporting Director Merijn Zeeman said in a press release. “His contribution is always very important in the team, but then of course he has to be completely fit. Unfortunately, we had to conclude together today that this is insufficiently the case, after COVID. He now needs to recover properly and will therefore not start. Fortunately, we have a good replacement ready with Bart Lemmen.”
Kuss isn’t the only Visma-Lease a Bike rider who is in rough shape. Vingegaard hasn’t raced since April after he crashed in the Itzulia Basque Country in April and suffered a punctured lung and a broken collarbone. Fellow Visma-Lease a Bike teammates Dylan van Baarle and Steven Kruijswijk were both ruled out for the Tour de France after breaking bones at Critérium du Dauphiné.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
