Kuss wins Vuelta as Groves claims final stage

7 months ago 105

Kaden Groves held off the peloton to secure his third win of the Vuelta and win the sprinter's jersey

Sepp Kuss won the Vuelta a Espana as Kaden Groves claimed a dramatic final stage in Madrid.

Kuss becomes the first American to win a Grand Tour since Chris Horner triumphed in the same race 10 years ago.

His Jumba-Visma team dominated the podium as Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard finished second with Giro d'Italia winner Primoz Roglic third.

Groves sprinted to the final stage win, just about holding off the peloton.

It was the Australian's third stage win. He was in a six-man breakaway and made the decisive move with 37km to go of a 100km stage which consisted of 20 laps around the Spanish capital.

The peloton bore down on the breakaway in the final metres but Groves, who claimed the overall sprinter's jersey, crossed the line ahead of Italy's Filippo Ganna and Nico Denz of Germany.

Kuss and his team-mates kept out of trouble on what was a processional stage for the general classification and linked arms as they finished to secure a clean sweep of this season's Grand Tours, becoming the first team to do so.

"It's incredible," Kuss told Eurosport. "I think today was the stage I suffered most in the whole race so now I'm just glad it's over.

"It's life-changing for sure but I'll still be me. I'll look back on this experience with a lot of fond memories. It's all just still sinking in really. It will take quite some time."

Stage 21 results:

1. Kaden Groves (Aus/Alpecin-Deceuninck) 2hrs 24mins 13secs

2. Filippo Ganna (Ita/Ineos Grenadiers) same time

3. Nico Denz (Ger/Bora-hansgrohe) same time

4. Hugo Page (Fra/Intermarche-Circus-Wanty) same time

5. Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa/Movistar Team) same time

6. Rui Costa (Por/Intermarche-Circus-Wanty) same time

7. Marijn van den Berg (Ned/EF Education-EasyPost) same time

8. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal Quick-Step) same time

9. Dries van Gestel (Bel/TotalEnergies) same time

10 Lennard Kamna (Ger/Bora-hansgrohe) same time

Final General Classification after Stage 21: