Jonas V gave an interview to Danish TV where he was a bit more open about the dynamics of the team mid-race and his own feelings. A Danish lady (MatildefromJuly) on Twitter provided a translation:
Int: if you had to explain to the people who are now complaining that the decision is matchfixing because they believe you would win. What would you tell them?
JV: Well... I'd actually just ask them if they think I should stab my own teammate in the back? Because I don't think I should
Int: Do you think it's because they don't realise cycling is a team sport?
Jonas: Yes - like, it *is*a team sport and Sepp has helped me so many times, so why should I stab him in the back? That's not who I am as a person. I don't want to do that and until yesterday I was in a bit of a pickle where I felt I was between a rock and a hard place
Int: Try to expand on that.
Jonas: We had agreed to race it and of course if the other two are fighting it out, I want to join in. But if we had decided we weren't going to do that - which I would have liked us to have gone with from the start... I would have liked to see that after the rest day we should fight for it and just ride defensively. But then we decided that we were going to race it, I felt like I got put in a tough spot.
Int: Was the decision made too late?
Jonas: Well I'd like to see it had been taken earlier. But it still results in Sepp winning - hopefully.
It's all a bit more comprehensible in retrospect. The team plan was for Primosz and Jonas to be co-leaders, and if the two were the last men standing, evidently the plan was that they'd fight it out. Sure, inter-team drama, but Primosz was probably at least a bit pissed that Jonas was there at all, and would anyone have complained if those two went 1-2, having fought it out on (let's say) the Angliru? Kuss getting in that early breakaway was certainly a part of the plan, getting into the red jersey the best possible outcome. I'm sure they were happy for him to be in the jersey, for a few days, setting up Remco to take it, then a fierce battle in the third week. But Kuss had picked up a lot of time, held his own in the TT, and of course Remco had that jour very sans. When Kuss showed no sign of fading going into the third week, they had a problem. On the Angliru, that look Jonas threw back to Sepp seemed like '****, I don't want to beat you, but I sure don't want Primosz to beat me!' It's quite plausible that Kuss's claim that he told them to go on without him is true, that was the plan up to that point.
Ah well, all's well that ends well, and that was an amazing race. I suspect Kuss will go back to super-domestique duties, or at least want to. While he clearly enjoys being part of a winning team, and an important one at that, I very much doubt he wants the pressure and attention of being a GC leader. Who would? I don't think Jonas likes that aspect of winning very much either.
It’s too much to hope that Kuss could have ‘box of Wheaties’ level of fame in the US, especially since this may be a one-off GT win. But hopefully it’ll attract some interest to the sport.
Last edited by Chicago Al; 09-19-23 at 07:53 PM.