A water carrier just won the hardest cycling race on the planet

Something amazing happened this past weekend.

If you are an American, you probably have not heard about it. You probably don’t know who did it or what he did. And until you clicked on this article, you probably didn’t care. But you should.

Sepp Kuss won the Vuelta a España.

Who? Did what now?

Kuss is a 29-year-old professional cyclist from Durango, Colorado. On Sunday, he won one of the three major “grand tours” in road cycling. The others are the more famous Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia. All are grueling, three-week races across the flatlands and mountainous terrain of their eponymous nations. The Spanish tour is the last of the three, and this year it had the most difficult and demanding route.

What’s so remarkable about Kuss winning is that he has devoted his career to helping other cyclists win these grand tours. His Vuelta win is a little bit like Kansas City Chiefs starting center Creed Humphrey winning the National Football League Most Valuable Player trophy instead of his quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.

Kuss is much beloved in the professional peloton and cycling fandom. He has myriad nicknames, from “The Durango Kid” to “The Mailman” (because he always delivers as a helper) to my favorite, “GC Kuss.” The latter was a formerly ironic nickname because, while Kuss is absolutely one of the world’s most elite climbers on a bike, he never came close to winning the “general classification” in a major pro bike race.

Until this Vuelta.

There is a famous cycling film that was made 50 years ago, at the Giro d’Italia, titled Stars and Water Carriers. That edition of the race featured the biggest stars, including Belgian rider Eddy Merckx, widely considered the greatest bike racer of all time. But the film also focuses on the water carriers, the riders who fetch water for their team leaders, protect their position in the peloton, ride into the wind, and so much more.