Powless, Kuss tapped to boost Jumbo-Visma’s Vuelta GC bid
Two Americans join an ambitious Jumbo-Visma aiming for overall victory at the upcoming Vuelta a España
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Neilson Powless will make his grand tour debut at the 2019 Vuelta a España alongside compatriot Sepp Kuss as Jumbo-Visma brings a packed squad all-in for the GC.
The 22-year-old Powless earns his first grand tour start in his second season at the WorldTour. Solid results this season, including second in the final decisive stage at the Tour of Poland earlier this month, helped secure his selection on Jumbo-Visma’s deep Vuelta squad.
Kuss, 24, will be back for his second Vuelta and his third grand tour start of his young career. Earlier this year Kuss raced the Giro d’Italia, and helped team leader Primoz Roglic secure a third-place finish in the Italian race.
Both will be supporting GC captains Steven Kruijswijk and Primoz Roglic. The pair is off career-best grand tour results, with Kruijswijk riding high after finishing third in Paris at the Tour de France, and Roglic third at the Giro d’Italia.
Jumbo-Visma is so confident in its GC aspirations that it left sprinter Dylan Groenewegen at home, and brought Tony Martin and Roglic instead. Robert Gesink, George Bennett and Lennard Hofstede round out the Vuelta lineup.
The Vuelta begins August 24 with a team time trial in Torrevieja, where the team will be hoping to replicate its success from the Tour when it won the TTT in Brussels in stage 2.