sir_crash_alot

I guess that how I've learned about teamwork is that the team superstars should never see themselves above the team, and that everyone should work equally hard.

But perhaps this illustrates why I have grown suspicious of big business sports in general.

Call it a cultural difference or whatever, but I guess that means that pro cycling is just not for me.

I'll take my leave then.

slcbob

However they see themselves, the superstars are better AND work harder. And the best ones don't act like it.

It can be tough to confuse or distinguish between teamwork and equality.

MinnMan

Great accomplishment comes with great egos, but what we just saw was the opposite of what you portray. It was the process of some unbelievable alpha-riders gradually coming to grips with an unexpected situation where what was best for the team, and in the long-run for them, was different from what they expected and for what they had prepared for mentally.

Are you a baseball fan? Would you abandon it if your favorite home run king deliberately hit a sacrifice fly to win a key game?

Bike racing is a team sport, with complex tactics, complex relationships, AND elements of uncertainty that no individual or team can control or predict. If you don't have the patience or the interest to learn the intricacies and to appreciate the nuances, there are indeed sports that are simpler to understand. Your choice.

MinnMan

I'm totally happy for Sepp Kuss. But people shouldn't expect this to be more than what it is likely to be - a one off. Had Kuss been the marked J-V team leader, he wouldn't have been allowed into the break on Stage 6.

He will have greater visibility and may share team leadership in the Giro or Vuelta in coming years, but as long as he and Vingegaard remain at J-V, Kuss will return to being Jonas' superdomestique for the Tour.

Also, this is a small shot in the arm for American cycling, but nothing on the scale of Lemond and (before the fall) Armstrong. Most American sport fans don't even know what the Vuelta is.

GrainBrain

Sepp getting into the break is what the Pinot-Gaudu-Uran-Woods etc of cycling must absolutely dream of. Though I'm still suspicious that there was more then just a "whoops" thing going on for Sepp from JV leadership or Sepp himself. Check out the (yes shortened distance) TT results. Very interesting (oh Soler...)



I'm suspicious if Remco really "cracked" on the Tourmalet stage or just realized he'd been snookered so might as well go for stage wins instead of a top 5.
I really want to see Sepp go for a stage at the giro and the maglia azura. An interesting reminder of that stage 20 TT by the way ...



Hmm ...

Chicago Al 

The origin of the GC Kuss Twitter account:

https://themessenger.com/sports/gcse...um=latest_news

alcjphil

Back when I was racing I was often the designated team leader. That was fine sometimes, but I always wanted to return the favour to my teammates when I could. Sepp Kuss had been an unflinching team support rider for years wherever he rode. When I started this thread I was paying homage to someone I think is the man every team needs. That he came through and won a Grand Tour since this thread was started sort of validates what I said at first. That he managed to win the Vuelta after being a key helper in 2 previous Grand Tours sort of underlines the title of this thread

Chicago Al 

This is a great thread, Phil, and extremely well-timed!

To go a little deeper, here’s a nice article about Sepp’s early days. I’d assumed he came from a super-competitive cycling background, but it appears that the Durango MTB scene was a lot more about having fun. And that still shows in how he rides.

https://www.bicycling.com/racing/a45...ung-sepp-kuss/