American cyclist Sepp Kuss came close to ending the USA’s five-year drought without a stage win at the 2026 Tour de France. However, his hopes were dashed by two dramatic crashes, one of which nearly sent him tumbling off the side of a mountain.
While leading the race during the descent, Kuss suffered his first crash just a few miles from the finish line, right outside a tunnel. He collided with a wall, but quickly recovered, remounted his bike, and managed to maintain his lead.
The second crash proved even more dangerous, Kuss slammed into a wall protected by a safety net and came within inches of falling over the concrete barrier, narrowly avoiding what could have been a catastrophic accident.
Remarkably, after his second crash, Kuss once again
got back on his bike and chased down race leader Richard Carapaz, ultimately finishing just 30 seconds behind the Ecuadorian.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: American Sepp Kuss narrowly avoids catastrophe in Tour de France crash
