Durango’s Sepp Kuss is still looking for his first stage win of his Giro d’Italia career, but it looks like he’s done his job of supporting Visma-Lease a Bike team leader Jonas Vingegaard beautifully with the first Grand Tour coming to a close.
Vingegaard, the Danish star who was the pre-race favorite, has held the Giro lead since Saturday with the help of Kuss during some crucial mountain stages. After winning his fourth stage of the Giro on Tuesday, Vingegaard avoided any trouble in the hilly Stage 17 on Wednesday and on the flat Stage 18 on Thursday to keep his four-minute lead going into the final three stages of the Giro.
On Wednesday, the riders completed the 202-kilometer trek from Cassano d’Adda, Italy, to Andalo, Italy, with a few mild climbs throughout. Visma-Lease a Bike wasn’t worried about the breakaway group, staying in the peloton throughout as the action was changing at the front.
“We had already decided beforehand not to go for the stage win today,” Vingegaard said. “We’ve already had two tough weeks, and the Giro is not over yet. My teammates were able to take it a bit easier today. I’m very happy for Michael. He’s had a lot of bad luck in his career, so this stage win is a wonderful reward for all his hard work.”
Michael Valgren won the stage in four hours, 41 minutes and 33 seconds. Kuss finished 31st, 5:15 behind, and Vingegaard was 34th with the same time.
Thursday’s Stage 18 from Fai della Paganella, Italy, to Pieve di Soligo, Italy was a 171-kilometer ride without any big climbs, but a few bumps to get over and a punchy climb to finish.
Once again, Visma-Lease a Bike stayed in the peloton as the breakaway pushed to get some points early in the stage. The field came back together late in the stage as the steep Muro di Ca’ del Poggio climb started with about 10 km left. Former general classification leader Afonso Eulálio pushed to create some separation, but Kuss made sure to stop his attack by closing the gap.
After everyone got to the top of the climb, the sprinters took over to battle for the stage win. Paul Magnier won in 3:46:50, with Vingegaard finishing 46th and Kuss in 55th with the same time as Magnier.
“The Muro di Ca’ del Poggio was tough,” Vingegaard said. “Eulálio launched a strong acceleration. We expected the GC riders to make moves on that climb, so we were prepared for everything. Our main goal today was to reach the finish safely. We never really thought about the stage victory. There was little opportunity to save energy today, but we are really looking forward to the next two mountain stages.”
Riders have a challenging mountainous stage on Friday and Saturday before an easy stage in Roma on Sunday to finish the Giro. Friday and Saturday’s stages are chances for Kuss to go for a stage win, or he’ll continue to help Vingegaard strengthen his commanding lead.
Vingegaard leads the GC over Felix Gall by 4:03, with Kuss in 17th in the GC, 18:07 behind.