Quote Originally Posted by Witton Park View Post
On the stage Graham enjoyed I think Kamna came 2nd. A few kms out he broke away on a descent and come off on a corner.
It cost him around 15-20 secs and he got back to the group and lost in the sprint.

The point being that if the 3 riders from LJ decided to hell with it, let's rip it up on Stage 20, which is like a typical classic stage, they might lose a couple of them and end up with just one on the podium.

It's very much a team sport as has previously been set out and the need for team strength in a Grand Tour is clear to see, whether it's for overall, or sprint trains.

I'm chuffed for Kuss. I think he's a worthy winner. He's carried Roglic and Vingegaard to multiple grand tour wins because that was his job.
He could never push on from the front on a major climb unless it was a team tactical decision, because he had to stay with the team leader to protect them, or he had to soften up the opposition for his leader.
This is his payback - hopefully.
All quite worthy points.

And as i mentioned, i'm coming from it with a point of view from a non-cycling, non-technical background.

But the team have clearly done their job well, and (whether deliberately or not) got three riders in podium positions.... so let them off the leash and race it out.

I'm sure everything you say about Kuss is absolutely correct about him being a worthy winner... but by the same token, what about Roglic.... he's been "set up" to win the Vuelta.... and now the team have changed their mind.

In my (clearly un-knowledgeable) opinion, team politics should never trump outright racing.