Sepp Kuss attacks on Mount Nebo to take stage and Race Lead

Even Mt. Nebo couldn’t stop Sepp Kuss of Team Lotto NL-Jumbo from taking the Stage 2 win and overall leader’s yellow jersey at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah in Payson on Wednesday.

Kuss took a solo breakaway to the summit and flew down the 22-mile twisting descent to victory in front of teammate Neilson Powless in second and Kyle Murphy of Rally Cycling in third.

Sepp Kuss (LottoNL-Jumbo) attacked solo from 45 kilometers to go and  climbed past the day’s breakaway, and held onto his lead on the descent into Payson to take stage 2 by 29 seconds.

Kuss, was 13 seconds back in the general classification, also took the 10-second time bonus, which puts him into the yellow jersey by 21 seconds.

Race leader Tejay Van Garderen who was put under pressure all day, dropped to third place.

Stage 3 on Thursday, starts out on the far end of Antelope Island on Garr Ranch, with over 600 American Bison in the area, the wildlife on Antelope Island is one of the highlights of the week. After a windswept 7 miles on the Antelope Island Causeway onto the mainland, the race will serpentine through Davis County to the new finish in Layton.

One short, steep KOM up to the Bountiful Bench could be the launching pad for a late breakaway. Before riders get to the finish line, the race will make a return to Hill Air Force Base just before entering the City of Layton.

The racers will tackle three circuits through Layton Commons Parks before crowning a winner.

2018 Tour of Utah Stage 2 Top 10

1  KUSS Sepp Team LottoNL-Jumbo 20 30 3:25:58
2  POWLESS Neilson Team LottoNL-Jumbo 10 18 0:29
3  MURPHY Kyle Rally Cycling 5 12 ,,
4  VILLALOBOS HERNANDEZ Luis Aevolo  7 0:32
5  HERMANS Ben Israel Cycling Academy  4 ,,
6  WOODS Michael Team EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale  3 ,,
7  BOOKWALTER Brent BMC Racing Team  2 ,,
8  HAIG Jack Mitchelton-Scott  1 ,,
9  MANNION Gavin UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team   ,,
10  SWIRBUL Keegan Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis   ,,

2018 Tour of Utah GC after Stage 2

1 KUSS Sepp Team LottoNL-Jumbo 5 7:49:37
2   POWLESS Neilson Team LottoNL-Jumbo  0:21
3  VAN GARDEREN Tejay BMC Racing Team  0:25
4 2 MURPHY Kyle Rally Cycling  0:37
5  DOMBROWSKI Joe Team EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale  0:38
6 MANNION Gavin UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team  ,,
7 CARTHY Hugh Team EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale  ,,
8 WOODS Michael Team EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale  0:39
9 HAIG Jack Mitchelton-Scott  0:40
10 BOOKWALTER Brent BMC Racing Team  ,,