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Sepp Kuss is the latest member in one of the most elite clubs in U.S. elite men’s racing.
In 2021, the Jumbo-Visma climber fended off Alejandro Valverde to win a Tour de France stage high in Andorra, becoming just the 11th U.S. rider to achieve the mark.
Final start lists are not yet confirmed, but a solid crew of U.S. riders will be heading to the Tour de France next month packing dreams of winning a stage.
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A handful of riders already have their spots assured, while Brandon McNulty, who raced the past two editions of the Tour de France, will not be racing. Another half-dozen are waiting to see if they can book their tickets for Bilbao, where the Tour starts on July 1.
Here’s who’s expected to race and their chances of a win:
Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma)
Kuss won stage 15 in the 2021 Tour, becoming the 11th US rider to win a stage. (Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Let’s start at the top. Kuss is expected to be on super-domestique duty at Jumbo-Visma, a role he delivered perfectly in May to help deliver Primož Roglič into the maglia rosa.
The Colorado climbing ace has never raced the Giro-Tour double, but he is accustomed to the demands of racing back-to-back grand tours. Since 2019, he’s raced two grand tours in each season, and from 2020, he’s raced the Tour-Vuelta a España double.
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As one of the elite climbers in the peloton, Kuss’s priority will be to pace Jonas Vingegaard in his yellow jersey defense, but if the opportunity presents itself, Kuss could have freedom to chase another Tour stage win.
Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost)
Neilson Powless came within seconds of the yellow jersey in the first week of last year’s Tour. (Photo: Gruber Images/Velo)
Neilson Powless is expected to be tapped for what will be his fourth Tour start.
In his 2020 debut, Powless rode into several breakaways, and twice finished in the top-5 to confirm his Tour credentials. Last year, he was fourth on the Roubaix-inspired cobblestone stage, and came within a fistful of seconds of taking the yellow jersey en route to a superb Tour with 12th overall.
In 2023, EF Education-EasyPost will be backing Richard Carapaz for the GC, but Powless will have his freedom to chase his own results on select days. Ever more confident, Powless wants to make that breakthrough performance of either a stage victory or a solid top-10, or perhaps both. A lot of his freedom will depend on how Carapaz is riding into the final week.
Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar)
Matteo Jorgenson is eyeing a stage win in the wake of his spectacular 2022 Tour debut. (Photo: Gruber Images/Velo)
Though Matteo Jorgenson is leaving Movistar at the end of the season, the Idahoan is expected to have a starring role on the Spanish team.
He was impressive in his Tour debut last year, riding into three winning breakaways, finishing in the top-5 each time. Those experiences and close calls will see a more confident and determined Jorgenson returning to the Tour.
Speaking to Velo earlier this season, Jorgenson said he’s putting a Tour stage win right at the top of his priorities. Strong rides this spring, with fourth at E3 Saxo Classic and ninth at Tour of Flanders, backed up by second overall at the Tour de Romandie confirmed his depth and versatility.
With Movistar backing Enric Mas in the GC, Jorgenson should still see his opportunities to ride into breakaways on the right days. Unless Mas is right there fighting for the yellow jersey, the team will cut him loose on select days.
The others: Waiting for their chances
The Tour’s finish on Avenue Champs-Élysées (Photo: A.S.O./Charly Lopez)
Behind the leading trio there are another half-dozen riders awaiting their Tour destinies. If tapped to race, many will be riding in support roles, but could see an opening.
Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo): The Coloradan is another stage-winner candidate if he returns for what would be his second Tour start.
Last year, Simmons lit up his Tour debut, riding into no less than five breakaways. A top result of 11th in stage 10 doesn’t accurately reflect his aggressiveness and intention.
The Trek-Segafredo star pulled the plug early on his spring classics campaign after things were not going as well as he expected. He’ll be returning to the Tour de Suisse, where he won the climber’s competition and hit fourth in one of the big mountain stages, to prove he deserves a trip back to the Tour.
Lawson Craddock (Jayco-AlUla): The Texan is also hoping to get tapped to return to his third Tour and his first since 2018 as a key helper for GC man Simon Yates. After racing the Critérium du Dauphiné, Craddock knows what his job will be if starts. He’s a loyal worker whose skillset is needed across a variety of terrain, and would have the green light to try his luck in the Tour’s lone time trial if he makes selection.
Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers): The second-year WorldTour pro is racing the Tour de Suisse this week, and is waiting for the call to confirm if he’ll race or not. It’s competitive inside the Ineos Grenadiers bus, but if he’s selected, the team will letting its riders attack on select days. The team’s GC hopes will hang on Daniel Martínez, who will be targeting a top-10 and more. Egan Bernal is also expected to make an emotional return to the Tour, but if he’s selected, Sheffield will not leave without at least making a run for a victory.
Kevin Vermaerke (Team DSM): The 22-year-old is racing this week at the Tour de Suisse, and is on the team’s long list. Last year, he crashed out in the first week, and will be keen to return to make it to Paris. The team is backing Romain Bardet in the GC, but riders will have freedom to chase wins on select days.
US winners of Tour de France stages:
LeMond, shown here celebrating his third and final Tour win in 1990, is the only official U.S. Tour winner. (Photo: Getty Images/Tony Duffy/ALLSPORT)
Lance Armstrong: Two stages, one in 1993 and another in 1995, remain on his official palmarès. Nine other stage victories were disqualified as part of his USADA case.
Tyler Farrar: The retired sprinter won his lone Tour de France stage in stage 3 in 2011. He also part of a team time trial effort won by Garmin-Cervélo the previous day. Farrar also finished in the top-3 in eight more sprints.
Tyler Hamilton: The all-rounder finished in the top-3 on three occasions in individual time trials, and his lone official Tour stage victory came in a solo breakaway across the Pyrénées from Pau to Bayonne in 2003.
Andrew Hampsten: The only American to win the Giro d’Italia is also the lone American to win atop Alpe d’Huez. The victory came in the 1992 edition racing with Motorola. He finished third on two other occasions, also in the mountains for the natural-born climber.
George Hincapie: The classics specialists and rolleur raised eyebrows when he won a stage ahead of Óscar Pereiro in a breakaway high in the Pyrénées in the 2005 Tour to Saint-Lary-Soulan (Pla d’Adet).
Sepp Kuss: The last American to win a Tour stage, Kuss held off Alejandro Valverde to win in Andorra in the 2021 Tour.
Floyd Landis: A solo breakaway win over the Alps from St-Jean-de-Maurienne to Morzine saw Landis claw back more than 5 minutes in the 2006 Tour, a victory that was later disqualified as part of his controversial doping ban.
Greg LeMond: As the only official yellow jersey winner of the Tour de France, Lemond won two road stages — stage 13 in 1986 and stage 19 in 1989 — his most memorable victory came in the closing-day TT battle against Laurent Fignon in Paris to wrestle away the yellow jersey in the closest Tour victory in race history. LeMond also won time trial stages in 1985 and 1989, and won the 1990 overall title without winning a stage.
Davis Phinney: The sprinter won two Tour stages across his career, including in 1986 and again in 1987, both times racing for 7-Eleven.
Jeff Pierce: He’s the only American to win in a sprint on the Champs-Élsyées after riding into a break on the final stage in the 1987 Tour ahead of Steve Bauer in what was the 25th stage of that year’s Tour.
Dave Zabriskie: The time trialist specialist won the opening ITT ahead of Armstrong in a 19km test against the clock from Fromentine to Noirmoutier-en-l’Ile to open the 2005 Tour, and held the yellow jersey until the stage 4 team time trial.
Farrar was the last U.S. rider to win a Tour stage in 2011, pictured here winning stage 3, until Kuss won a decade later. (Photo: James Startt/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)