On the face of it, six days in early August changed a great many things for Sepp Kuss, though the foundations for his sparkling run of victories at the Tour of Utah had already been laid during the unforgiving opening six months of his time at LottoNL-Jumbo. The 24-year-old stepped up from Rally Cycling in 2018 and was given sustained exposure to some top-level racing in the first half of the season, lining out at the Tour of the Basque Country, Tour of the Alps and Critérium du Dauphiné. Results, understandably, were thin on the ground, but the opportunity to gauge himself against some of the climbing grandees of the peloton proved a useful one.ADVERTISEMENT `It was a huge learning experience and I just kept at it. For a neo-pro, you know you`re not likely to get results at those kinds of races so for me there was no pressure - it was just learning and trying to have fun in those races and soak in all the experience,` Kuss told Cyclingnews at the Tour of Guagnxi. `Then, halfway through the season, I found my legs, and once you have that it makes it easier to get results in those kinds of races.` After a block of rest in late June and July, Kuss returned to action in what appeared to be the form of his life, claiming three stage wins and overall victory at the Tour of Utah. The sheer effervescence of his climbing was striking, and the former mountain biker immediately found himself being hailed as the next great hope of American bike racing. The tag is one he neither solicits nor rejects; it simply comes with the territory. Fatigue
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