Sepp Kuss will make his WorldTour debut in 2018 after signing a two-year deal with LottoNL-Jumbo, the team announced on Wednesday.
“I’m extremely excited to join Team LottoNL-Jumbo,” Kuss said in a team release. “With a proven track-record of developing its riders and considering the great amount of individual attention and resources the staff gives its riders, I feel that this team is the best place for me to progress. I hope to learn from the experienced team members and continue to develop as a climber along with working on my time trial. I’m also excited to discover what types of races suit me best.”
The 23-year-old joins LottoNL-Jumbo after spending two years with the continental Rally Cycling program. During that time, Kuss showed himself as a solid climber. He finished second on stage two of the 2017 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah in August atop the brutal climb to Snowbasin Resort. His runner-up placing earned him the yellow jersey, which he wore for a day. He went on to finish ninth overall.
A few weeks later, Kuss finished second again on a summit finish. This time it was at the Tour of Alberta and he finished runner-up to his teammate Evan Huffman. He would finish the race second overall behind Huffman.
He also won a stage of the 2016 Tour de Beauce, which finished atop Mont-Mégantic.
Kuss will join fellow young American Neilson Powless in making the jump to the WorldTour with LottoNL-Jumbo. Powless also recently signed a two-year deal with the team.
“Kuss attracted our attention during the Tour of California,” director sportive Merijn Zeeman said. “Since then, we have been following him and we tested him intensively. He has a background as a mountain-biker and hasn’t been riding a racing bike for a long time yet. He still has plenty of room for development and we will give him the time to do so.”
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