Sepp Kuss Out of Season Opener in Another Setback for Visma

Sepp Kuss is out of his first stage-race of the season in what’s yet another early blip for team Visma-Lease a Bike.

The Colorado climber did not start stage 3 of the Tour of Oman on Monday with sickness. The 31-year-old had lined out for the 5-day race with half an eye on chasing GC to set the engine humming for the year to come.

Kuss’ exit takes Visma-Lease a Bike down to only four riders in Oman after Axel Zingle and Owain Doull didn’t even make it to day 1.

“Sepp is ill, so we didn’t start him,” Visma-Lease a Bike head of racing Grischa Niermann told Wielerflits.

“After losing Axel Zingle and Owain Doull before we’d even raced a meter, we’re unfortunately down another rider. There are many sick riders in the peloton with stomach and intestinal issues,” Niermann said Monday. “That was also the case with Kuss.”

It’s a small setback for Kuss, but part of a frustrating start to the season for the “Killer Bees.”

Wout van Aert fractured his ankle racing cyclocross in early January, and Simon Yates stunned the world with his shock retirement just a few days later.

Last week, Jonas Vingegaard abandoned his plan to debut 2026 in the UAE Tour after he crashed and came down with sickness in recent weeks.

Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) went on to win stage 3 in Oman on Monday after Kuss’ abandon. The Swiss rider is now 4 seconds up on GC ahead of Wednesday’s decisive finale on Green Mountain.

Kuss to partner Vingegaard through Giro-Tour double

Kuss is set for a key role for Visma-Lease a Bike in 2026.

The “Eagle of Durango” has been slated to follow Vingegaard through his quest to win the Giro d’Italia on debut and double back to beat Tadej Pogačar at the Tour de France. The two are scheduled to team up for the first time this season next month at the Volta a Catalunya.

Visma-Lease a Bike will take solace from the fact it’s not the only one with a packed-out infirmary.

Its archrivals UAE Emirates XRG was decimated by crashes and a pair of bounding kangaroos at the Tour Down Under and then saw rising star Davide Stella sidelined after he tore up his back and glutes in the brutal 100kph crash in the AlUla Tour.