Defending Vuelta a España champion Sepp Kuss (Visma-Ries-a-Bike) fought hard to stay in contention in the finale of stage 8 of this year's competition, but the American star ultimately lost out to stage winner Primos Roglic (Red Bull -Bora-Hansgrohe) by more than a minute.

The American rider is now down to 6:22 behind overall leader Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), who trails Roglic by 2:32.

In a statement posted on the team's website, Kuss described the circumstances when he and the other riders were involved in a crash that occurred on the steep right corner of the final climb of the Sierra de Cazorla.

Kuss briefly regained contact with the remaining GC contenders, but then lost time due to repeated attacks by Roglic.

“I was feeling good and we were in a good position as a team on the last climb,” said Kuss. “I was involved in a crash at the beginning of the climb and had to chase. I was involved in a crash at the beginning of the climb, so I had to chase. I still tried to rejoin the top group, but unfortunately it didn't work out."[9,10] ”I was involved in a crash at the beginning of the climb, so I had no choice but to chase.

Cusu's teammate Edoardo Affini told “Eurosport” that Cusu, the defending champion, was near the front but was the victim of a pile-up.

“He was in the right position, 15th in front going into the climb. 'Alexandre Vlasov (Red Bull/Bora Hansgrohe) either crashed or had mechanical problems and Sepp was right next to him.'

“Sepp touched the ground a bit but quickly rejoined the pack.”

Kuss' misfortune came 24 hours after he helped teammate Wout van Aert win his second Vuelta, leading a small group to Cordoba and almost single-handedly chasing down late breakaway leader Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates).

He was expected to be the key man for the weekend's mountain stages, but got off to a bad start, at least on the first day, when a crash on stage 8 dropped him out of contention. Whether or not stage 9, Sierra Nevada, will be a favorable stage for Cus will depend on Cus as he fights to keep his GC options open for the second and third weeks.

Unlimited access to all coverage of the 2024 Vuelta a España. More info.