“We’re actually going to overlook him,” was how Visma-Lease a Bike teammate and Vuelta a España champion Sepp Kuss described how the lack of co-leader Wout van Aert would have an effect on the Dutch group within the Spanish Grand Tour.
Earlier than crashing out late on stage 16 of the Vuelta a España on Tuesday, Van Aert had been a significant participant within the race. Three stage victories, a two-day spell in la roja, and holding a joint lead of the mountains and factors classifications when he needed to stop had been all already within the Belgian star’s palmares.
However that seemingly continuous succession of triumphs and leads got here to an abrupt halt on the descent of the Collada Llomera on Tuesday, when a nasty crash on a sweeping left-hand bend ripped by the break of the day and noticed Van Aert and two different riders, Felix Engelhart (Jayco-AIUIa) and Isaac del Toro (UAE Crew Emirates), all hit the deck.
The Mexican and German got here by kind of unscathed, however when Van Aert tried to proceed, his deep proper knee harm made it unimaginable.
“We’re actually going to overlook him, it was fairly exhausting seeing him there on the facet of the highway, already stopped with the automobile,” Kuss stated on the stage 17 begin.
“Yesterday [Tuesday] we simply needed to attempt to be focussed, end the stage as finest as we might. However as we speak you observed [his absence] within the group bus a bit extra.”
Kuss himself was instrumental in Van Aert’s second stage win on the Vuelta at Cordoba, when the North American rode himself into the bottom pulling again late attacker Marc Soler (UAE Crew Emirates). However because the Colorado racer noticed, it was Van Aert himself who made the distinction every time.
“He’s irreplaceable, specifically with what he’s achieved within the race and what there was left for him to go for.
“He gave the group a very good give attention to just about each stage. So with out him that modifications issues. However we’ll do our greatest with the blokes we now have left.”
Within the 2021 Vuelta when the peloton tackled the the identical descent in a lot heavier rainfall than Tuesday, there have been additionally a welter of fallers. Kuss – who went on to complete second that day at Lagos de Covadonga behind then-teammate Primoz Roglič – recalled the occasion.
“I keep in mind I had already handed by the a part of the descent when the falls occurred. Within the peloton, we had been going actually cautiously down the entire of it. However for certain the break [with Van Aert in the 2024 Vuelta] had a bit extra cause to race tougher.”
Relatively than begin a blame sport, Kuss argued that on this event not less than the crash was “nobody’s fault or something, simply in these sorts of roads there are all the time harmful circumstances. It’s all the time a bit moist, a bit dry and a bit in between. You by no means know whenever you may slide.”
Twelfth general after an incident-free stage 17, Kuss stated that he had no criticisms of the Vuelta organiser’s system for indicating harmful and/or technical segments of the phases.
“In loads of these races, the signalling has been actually good. It all the time actually helps, specifically on these tough roads which can be attention-grabbing and good to race on, however the place it’s a must to have the fitting warnings and stuff in place.
“And I believe the organisation does an excellent job with that right here and it’s exhausting to say however you’ll be able to’t mark each nook. Ultimately typically you simply must be fortunate and be in the fitting place on the proper time.”
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