"We can set something up for the last time in this Giro" - Sepp Kuss believes Jumbo-Visma can still turn Giro d'italia around

Sepp Kuss came to the Giro d'Italia to support Primoz Roglic and although the team extensively suffered losses due to Covid-19 the week leading up to it, it's been very strong and the American has his best legs in the days where the race is to be decided.

“It was perfect for Primož. We can be satisfied with the time gain he has made. On days like this, you can't compete with the best if you're not 100 percent. Fortunately, Primož is in excellent condition," Kuss told Cyclingnews at Val di Zoldo. Jumbo-Visma finally attacked the race hard on stage 18, with the explosive ascent to Coi favouring the Slovenian who wanted to strike the GC fight.

Kuss launched the Slovenian into the attack, but as differences looked to be impossible to make to Geraint Thomas, Roglic relied on Kuss' work to distance João Almeida - who lost 21 seconds at the finish line. The American is surging through in the high mountains and after a quiet start of the race, he now has the possibility of playing a pivotal role for Roglic's final classification - whichever it may be.

“We are now looking forward to the queen stage, where as a team we can set something up for the last time in this Giro. Saturday's time trial will be a hand-to-hand fight," he concluded, ahead of a stage with 5400 meters of climbing, high altitude and at the end of three tough weeks.