After 3,469 kilometers of cycling over three weeks, the 2026 Giro d’Italia is over, and it was a successful Grand Tour for Durango’s Sepp Kuss and the Visma-Lease a Bike squad.
Kuss played his super-domestique role for Visma-Lease a Bike leader Jonas Vingegaard to perfection, guiding Vingegaard in the crucial mountain stages and helping keep the Danish star out of trouble in the crowded pelotons of the flat stages. Once Vingegaard had a commanding lead of the general classification, Kuss was given the green light to go for the Stage 19 win on Friday and he did, completing the career trilogy of a stage win in every Grand Tour.
Vingegaard made history in Rome on Sunday, taking the GC title after Stage 21, finishing the 21 stages in 83 hours, 22 minutes and 51 seconds, a dominant 5:22 ahead of Felix Gall in second. Kuss finished the GC in 13th, 22:12 behind Vingegaard. It was Vingegaard’s fourth Grand Tour victory of his career, and he became the eighth cyclist in history to win all three Grand Tours.
“It’s incredible to win the Giro d’Italia,” Vingegaard said in a Visma-Lease a Bike press release. “It’s something I’ve always dreamed of. To have it become reality is amazing. It’s such a special day. It was a fantastic day with a beautiful course and so much crowd support along the roads. Having my family here today brings tears to my eyes. They have always been there for me.
Sunday’s final stage was more of a formality when it came to the GC and was a sprinter’s paradise, with 131 kilometers of flat roads from Rome to the coast and back, before eight laps in a circuit in the city of Rome to finish.
A massive peloton rolled into Rome after going to the coast and back to the finish circuit, and Visma Lease a Bike was in the middle of it, staying out of trouble with its GC title secure. The sprinters’ teams were up at the front of the final lap as Lidl-Trek’s Jonathan Milan won the sprint, finishing in 3:05:50. Vingegaard finished the stage in 104th and Kuss in 107th with the same time as Milan.
On Saturday, Vingegaard showed his prowess by winning the mountainous Stage 20, which started in Gemona del Friuli, Italy, and finished in Piancavallo, Italy, after 200 km. Vingegaard won in 5:03:55, 1:15 over Gall in second. Kuss came home in 20th, 4:44 behind Vingegaard. It was Vingegaard’s fifth stage win of the Giro.
A small breakaway group put over five minutes on the peloton in the first half the stage. However, Kuss, Vingegaard and Visma-Lease a Bike pushed the pace at the front of the peloton to cut the gap.
With about 10 km left in the stage, Vingegaard attacked and easily caught what was left of the breakaway on a climb. The Visma-Lease a Bike leader had a gap of over 90 seconds late in the stage as he cruised to victory with his hands in the air.
“The guys did an incredible job today,” Vingegaard said in a Visma-Lease a Bike press release. “I had to make my move early on the climb. I attacked sooner than planned, but fortunately I had the legs to finish it off. The team has given everything over the past three weeks, so this victory is absolutely for them. Tomorrow, we’ll enjoy our celebratory day in Rome.”
The next Grand Tour is the Tour de France, starting on July 4. Vingegaard, Kuss and Visma-Lease a Bike looks like they have great form, but they’ll have to beat Tadej Pogačar, two-time defending Tour champion and four-time winner of the Tour. Pogačar sat out the Giro d’Italia to prepare for the Tour.
Kuss will enter the Tour de France off his best Giro d’Italia of his career. He’ll look to top his career-best finish of 12th in the Tour in 2023 and add another Tour stage win to his legacy as one of the best super-domestiques in recent memory.
Visma-Lease a Bike will also have to deal with the loss of head of racing, Grischa Niermann, with the news shocking the cycling world that he will leave the team at the end of August. He will not lead the team’s preparations for the Tour de France.