Who is the leader of Jumbo? "The strongest must win"

“I don't want them to give me the Vuelta, that's not a sport, the strongest has to win it,” admits without losing his smile Sepp Kuss, the gregarious man dressed in red, who on the ramps of Bejes, in the Liébana region , his dreams of conquering the Vuelta a España, which he still leads, began to fade.. And not because of the opposition a rival; It is his two companions from Jumbo Visma, whom the American climber helped so many times, who threaten his ephemeral reign. And here, the morbidity.

It is a strange Vuelta due to the unprecedented nature of the panorama.. The first three share colors, bus and guidelines. And, with Remco Evenepoel canceled (he came in second to last yesterday), it does not seem that Juan Ayuso and Enric Mas have enough power to discuss that never-before-seen podium. In any case, this Wednesday at Angliru everything will be much clearer. At most, on Thursday at Cruz de Linares. Two very hard stages at this point. “The third week is going to decide everything,” reasons Kuss, who showed some weakness in Bejes. Punished by his own teammate Roglic.

He gave up five seconds to the other roosters in the final meters, including Primoz, the one who was predestined to win on Tuesday. Those were the orders. But everything is so strange that no opponent came out to stop Jonas Vingegaard's early attack. And the Dane, increasingly in tune as the stages of the Spanish round progress, with his strength increasingly recovered after July's exhibition in the Tour, opened an unexpected gap. He dedicated the victory to his teammate Nathan Van Hooydonck – he suffered a serious car accident in Belgium in the morning, after suffering a heart attack – and also scratched the bonus at the finish line. Today, at the start of Ribadesella, only 29 seconds will separate him from the lead. From his partner.

Because that, who is the leader of Jumbo, seems the only thing to be decided in this Vuelta. If it will be the egos or the forces that clarify the panorama. If Roglic, who is third now at a minute and a half, will settle. If Kuss has any gasoline, self-love or freedom left. If Ayuso or Mas or Landa or Vlasov will be capable of some heroics that cast doubt on the tyranny of the Dutch squad. At least avoid the yellow and black photo on the podium in Madrid. “I want to enjoy this moment and not think about the general classification,” Vingegaard says, although everything indicates that he is the chosen one.

«I would like to win and I still have a margin, but I would also be happy if Jonas wins. “I'm going to face tomorrow's stage [for today] with good feelings,” Kuss counted on his impeccable Spanish.. The Vuelta has five stages left, three of them with slopes and enough distance to change any script. But none as feared as this Wednesday, in less than 125 kilometers, with the Colladiella and the Cordal for appetizers before facing the mythical Angliru (13.1 kilometers at 9.4%) and all, almost certainly, under the Asturian rain. It seems designed for the small Vingegaard, but Ayuso, who says that he already made the podium last year, that fourth place is not worth it and is willing to do anything, threatens: “The Angliru is a very special summit.”. I would love to be in contention for the stage and get the victory. I've lost time, but it's a new day. The last time the Angliru was reached, Alberto Contador, one of my idols, won, and I hope to be his successor.