Sepp Kuss wins Vuelta to end 10-year wait for American Grand Tour success

American Sepp Kuss rolled into Madrid as winner of the Vuelta a Espana as the three-week race concluded with a thrilling bunch sprint won by Australian Kaden Groves on Sunday.

Kuss began the race very much in the shadow of his more illustrious Jumbo-Visma team mates Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic but ended it with the red jersey on his shoulders.

He became the first American to win a Grand Tour in 10 years, a stretch dating back to Chris Horner’s Vuelta success in 2013.

Kuss said: “It’s incredible. I think today was the stage I suffered the most in the whole race, so now I’m just glad it’s over.

“I’ll still be me. It’s life-changing for sure but I think I’ll just look back on this experience with a lot of fond memories. It’s still sinking in, I think that’s going to take quite some time.”

The 29-year-old ended 17 seconds ahead of Denmark's Tour de France winner Vingegaard with Slovenia's Giro d'Italia winner Roglic one minute and eight seconds behind in third place.

It is the first time that a single team has won all three Grand Tours in a season.