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Into the Net TdF26-150
I have always wondered about Phil and Bob crying out when something goes wrong for a rider in the Tour, now I know. I cried out as Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) fought and lost his bike on a fast corner on the loop around the resort town of Alpe d'Huez. Kuss was off the front by over twenty seconds even after hitting the ground through the tunnel under a section of the town. He pressed even harder down the descent in hopes of making up time he lost in the previous fall. He finished this tumble sitting on the cement wall just at the end of the safety net. While he never went into it, thank God (or the ASO) that it was there. As he was on the ground, Richard Carapaz who had been chasing passed by. Kuss got up and gave chase, but never saw the man in the Maillot a Pois again. He still finished third on the stage!
In the post-race interview, Kuss laughed and apologized to his wife and his fans for scaring the hell out of them. He really didn't want to put her through that. And then said, "But, that is racing." I am sure with the luck that Visma has had this Tour, they will hope not to have the bib number "13" on a teammates back next year. The way the numbering works, they won't. That auspicious number will fall to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.