Durango’s Sepp Kuss Struggles in Tour de France Stages 7 and 8

DURANGO, Colorado — Durango cyclist Sepp Kuss faced challenges during Stages 7 and 8 of the 2025 Tour de France. Competing for the Visma-Lease a Bike team, Kuss finished 44th in Stage 7 and 97th in Stage 8. As of now, he is ranked 34th in the general classification.

Stage 7 featured a 197-kilometer route from Saint-Malo to Mûr-de-Bretagne, ending with a dramatic sprint between Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Kuss’ teammate, Jonas Vingegaard. Pogačar emerged victorious, reclaiming the yellow jersey with a time of 4 hours, 5 minutes, and 39 seconds. Kuss crossed the line 4 minutes and 4 seconds behind the leader.

Stage 8 was a 171.4-kilometer flat course ideal for sprinters, resulting in Jonathan Milan from Lidl-Trek taking the stage win in 3 hours, 50 minutes, and 26 seconds. Kuss and Quinn Simmons, also from Durango but racing for Lidl-Trek, finished far behind the leaders, with Kuss 1 minute and 11 seconds off the pace and Simmons trailing by 4 minutes and 39 seconds.

Pogačar now leads the overall standings by 54 seconds over Remco Evenepoel and Vingegaard, who sits in fourth place, 1 minute and 17 seconds behind. On Sunday, riders will compete in another flat stage starting in Chinon and concluding in Châteauroux. Kuss is anticipated to have a better opportunity during the Tour’s first mountain stage on Monday from Ennezat to Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy.