It was a day that looked as if the Empire was about to strike back. After being overwhelmed by Jumbo-Visma in last weekend's Tour de l'Ain, the opening stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné was won by the Dutch team's Milan-San Remo champion, Wout Van Aert. In the end, the result was the same, with Jumbo-Visma again showing his strength in the critical moments to give team leader Primoš Roglic his fourth victory in a week.

The Slovenian rider thanked all the team members for their help in triggering this success, but it was definitely Sepp Kuss who was the key rider for him. The 25-year-old American rider was the last of the Jumbos to ride with Roglic on the final summit of the Col de Porto on Thursday, showing great strength and calm decision-making as he rebounded a late attack by Ineos' Egan Bernal and was the starting point for Roglic's counterattack.

"Yeah, it was a good day. I was glad it rained. The heat has been killing me the last few days, so when I saw the rain I knew it was going to be a good day."

While he acknowledged that Ineos was strong on the final climb, Kuss pointed out that mechanical problems had seriously hampered Jumbo's own plans. Tom [Dumoulin] had to change bikes at the bottom of the last climb, and Robert [Gedink] had to come back with him. But I think the stage was pretty easy. But I think the stage was very easy.

The young American from Colorado, who will make his Tour de France debut later this month, made it clear why he was the sole protector of Roglic in the final kilometers.

"I had it under control, but when the gradient slowed a bit towards the top, I knew they would accelerate, and they did.

When Bernal attacked with a few kilometers to go, Kuss immediately began chasing the Colombian and quickly closed the gap. He said, "I think it was a little easier to close the gap when I was on the limit because I was already going so fast there. I knew Primozh would finish me off in the last kilometer, so I just kept running a little higher tempo. He told me to give it my all until then.

The lineup for Jumbo's Criterium du Dauphiné is a bit different from the one that performed well in the Tour de l'Ain, but the team has already proven to be an effective uniting force, which was a key objective going into the race. It's really good to build confidence ahead of the Tour and to work together as a team."