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Super domestique Sepp Kuss has won the Vuelta a Espagna ahead of his two teammates, Primoz Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard. Roglič won the Giro d'Italia and Vingegaard the Tour de France early in the season and Kuss, an American racer from Durango, Colorado, was key to the wins for both men. Now they've returned the favor, helping their teammate to the red jersey of the Vuelta. When he took the lead unexpectedly in stage 6, no one was more surprised than he was.
Expectations were that there were be tensions on the team with two leaders, but no one expected there would be three. But once Kuss proved his mettle, the three worked together to ensure Kuss' victory.
Jumbo Visma is the first team to win all three Grand Tours in the same year. The teammates also finished as the top three and the team won best team as well.
Australian Kaden Groves of Alpecin won the green jersey although he was challenged by Remco Evenepoel of Soudal. Unusally for the final sprint stage, a breakaway was established that stayed away until the end. As the peloton overwhelmed most of the breakaway riders, Kaden Groves threw himself over line to win the stage and clinch the jersey.
Evenepoel, last year's winner of the Vuelta, had a disastrous stage 13, but recovered on the next stage. While he had no chance for the general classification, three stage wins, the race's most aggressive rider, and the winner of the Mountains jersey, showed that he is still a contender in the future.
The best young rider jersey was won by Juan Ayuso of UAE. After some stages of being second in the competition, he rose to the top and the Spanish rider also finished fourth in the general classification.
This Vuelta was filled with surprises from the stormy start in Barcelona to the final circuit n Madrid. What surprises will next year bring for the Grand Tours?
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