Sepp Kuss and Van Aert are confirmed for the 2024 Vuelta a España
Although their participation was an open secret, Visma-Lease a Bike has officially confirmed that their mainstays in La Vuelta a España 2024 will be the current winner of the race, American Sepp Kuss, and, making his debut in the Spanish tour, Wout van Aert who will seek to turn around his season and win stages, as well as fine-tune his preparation for the World Championship to be held in Zurich.
Visma-Lease a Bike entrusts Kuss and Van Aert with saving the season in grand tours
After a magical 2023 in which they managed to conquer the Giro, Tour, and Vuelta, the three three-week grand tours of the cycling calendar, Visma-Lease a Bike faces the challenge of La Vuelta a España 2024 with the urgent need to perform well after a Tour de France in which they were forced to race very conservatively and ended with the second step of the podium for Jonas Vingegaard, insufficient for the winner of the last two editions and for a super team like Visma-Lease a Bike.
The current winner of La Vuelta a España 2024, Sepp Kuss, comes to this race after a change of plans that meant missing the Tour de France due to covid contracted during the Critérium du Dauphiné and adds to a year in which he has not shone too much, especially with his discreet performance in the Volta a Catalunya which was one of his main objectives at the beginning of the year.
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The leader of Visma-Lease a Bike will arrive at the start of La Vuelta after competing in the Vuelta a Burgos "a perfect preparation that takes place on roads similar to those of La Vuelta" and the dispute of the Clásica de San Sebastián which will serve to introduce a last touch of high intensity and resistance before starting the three weeks of the Spanish tour.
He will be surrounded in the Burgos race by what is probably essentially the same group of teammates that he will have at his disposal during La Vuelta a España 2024, formed by cyclists of the caliber of Affini, Gesink, or Cian Uijtdebroeks. To them must be added a luxury name making his debut in La Vuelta.
We are talking about Wout van Aert who we have seen shine in the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, first with the bronze medal in the time trial and, a few days ago, being the only one able to withstand the attacks of Mathieu van der Poel thwarting his attempts. A role that was key in the victory of his compatriot Remco Evenepoel despite how unnoticed it may have gone.
In any case, these are short results for the ambitions and class of Wout van Aert who has his next target set on the challenging World Cycling Championship to be held on a selective course in the Swiss city of Zurich. An objective that depends on the level of form he can achieve during La Vuelta a España 2024 in which, in addition to helping Sepp Kuss, a task for which he has always been willing, the Belgian has already stated that he will pursue partial victories, starting with the initial time trial in Lisbon which could earn him the first red jersey of this edition.