American rider Sepp Kuss takes on leading role as he begins title defense in Spanish Vuelta

MADRID -- This time the spotlight will be on Sepp Kuss from the start as he tries to retain his Spanish Vuelta title.

Kuss won last year's race over Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard, the top riders for Team Visma-Lease a Bike at the time.

Roglic is now with Team Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe, while Vingegaard has skipped the Vuelta to rest and prepare for the birth of his child.

That has left Kuss in a leading role to try to repeat as champion with Team Visma-Lease a Bike.

"I want to honour the race being with the No. 1,” Kuss said Thursday. “Last year there were quite unique circumstances. This year, without two main riders like Jonas and Primoz, I wouldn’t say there’s more pressure, but you feel there is no back up and you have to be more focused during the whole race.”

Kuss arrives in good form, having won the Burgos Vuelta last week. The American did not participate in the Tour de France because of COVID-19.

Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar, who beat Vingegaard for the title in France, is another big absence in this year's Vuelta, the last Grand Tour race of the season. Pogacar also won the Giro d'Italia this year.

Remco Evenepoel, the third-place finisher at the Tour de France, also won't be in Spain after prioritizing the Paris Olympics, in which he won a pair of gold medals for Belgium — in the individual time trial and in the road race.

This year’s Vuelta will begin in Lisbon and the first three stages will be in Portugal. The three-week race will include eight mountain stages and two individual time-trial stages. Only one stage will be flat.

“La Vuelta 24 will be full of spectacular views and we wanted to make the most of a monumental city like Lisbon,” race director Javier Guillén said.

The 2024 edition is introducing a series of safety measures, including a yellow card system “to prevent bad habits, whether from riders, motorbikes, sports directors…,” organizers said.

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