Vingegaard had to urge Kuss to take his chance: 'He never asks for something'

Kuss, long regarded as one of the most loyal and effective mountain domestiques in the peloton, was given the freedom to chase his own result on a brutal day in the Dolomites. He made full use of it, attacking from the breakaway on the final climb to Piani di Pezzè before catching and immediately countering Giulio Ciccone with 2.2km to go.

The result was Kuss’ first Giro d’Italia stage victory, adding to previous wins at the Tour de France and Vuelta a España. For Vingegaard, who moved another step closer to winning the Giro on debut, the triumph carried a personal meaning beyond the race situation.

“I’m just so happy for Sepp to win a stage,” Vingegaard said after the finish to CyclingPro.net. “It’s really special for me as well. He’s been there in all my Grand Tour victories. He’s always been there for me, never asking for something himself.”

Visma | Lease a Bike had started the day with a dual objective. Vingegaard needed to defend the maglia rosa on the Giro’s queen stage, while the team also wanted Kuss represented in the breakaway if the move formed on the early climbs. When the decisive group went clear on the Passo Duran, Kuss was in it.

“Our plan was that if the break would go on the climb, then we would have Sepp in the break, so that he could also get a bit of a chance here,” Vingegaard explained. “The break went on the climb and he was in the breakaway.”

On the final ascent, Kuss timed his effort perfectly. After Pellizzari opened the attacks from the chasers, the American accelerated with three kilometres remaining, crossed to Ciccone and then went straight past him. Ciccone had no response, and Kuss rode alone to the line.

For Vingegaard, the victory was a reward for years of sacrifice.

"It's really special for me as well. He has been there in all my grand tour victories. He's always been there for me, never asking for something himself. Even today I had to say, you can go for your chance today,” he said. “And then that he takes it, he just deserves it so much.”

The Dane added that Kuss had admitted afterwards that he had begun to doubt whether a Giro stage win would ever arrive. By completing the Grand Tour stage win set, Vingegaard believes his teammate has added a defining final piece to his career.

“Sepp just told me that he actually almost thought it would never happen,” Vingegaard said. “Now it happened for him, and I think in some kind of way it also completes his career a bit. It’s just a special day for our team as well.”

While Kuss took the headlines, Vingegaard remained firmly in control of the general classification. He finished 39 seconds behind his teammate alongside Felix Gall, having followed the key moves from the GC contenders on the last climb.

The Dane rejected the idea that it had been an easy day simply because Kuss was up the road.

“Of course it’s never easy,” he said. “It was a hard stage. But it was more about controlling and trying to give Sepp the opportunity there. Today again the team showed how strong they are. I was never in any problems because of my team.”

Vingegaard is now close to adding the Giro d’Italia to his Grand Tour palmarès, with stage 20 over two ascents of Piancavallo the final major obstacle before Rome. Yet he insisted there is no risk of his focus drifting before the race reaches the Italian capital.

“It’s not that hard,” Vingegaard said. “I’m a kind of guy who keeps the focus until we are in Rome. I don’t lose the focus. I still try to do everything right every day." 

Vingegaard then closed with words that sounded almost poetic in their simplicity.

“You’re not in Rome, before you’re in Rome.”