Sepp Kuss took a big step toward winning the 2023 Vuelta a España, as the American kept the red jersey after Stage 18, won by Remco Evenepoel in another solo triumph Thursday.

Jumbo-Visma rider Kuss, usually a domestique for star teammates Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic, was helped by the more illustrious duo to hold on to his slender lead on the last major mountain stage of this Vuelta.

The Dutch team seems to have decided that Kuss should win a Grand Tour for the first time, after he took the general classification lead and held it from Stage 8 onward.

The slender climb specialist Kuss increased his lead on second-place Vingegaard by nine seconds, after the back-to-back Tour de France winner eased up in the finale to leave the American with a 17-second advantage atop the overall standings.

Third is three-time Vuelta winner and Giro d'Italia champion Roglic, 1 minute, 8 seconds behind Kuss, with Jumbo-Visma set to become the first team to win all three Grand Tours in a single year.

Soudal-QuickStep rider Evenepoel, who finished 4 minutes, 44 seconds ahead of Damiano Caruso, recorded his 50th career victory.

The tricky 179-kilometer run in Asturias from Pola de Allande to La Cruz de Linares with five classified climbs promised excitement.

A strong early breakaway roared ahead, including Evenepoel, who has clinched the blue and white jersey for the Vuelta's best climber.

The reigning champion eventually dropped most of the break with Caruso and 20-year-old Max Poole sticking with him for a while.

Evenepoel, whose Grand Tour defense collapsed last week on Tourmalet, has been reborn since, and he captured his third stage win Thursday -- nobody has more.

The Belgian tapped his head as he headed to the line in the Vuelta's final mountain finish, as he also assured the King of the Mountains jersey.

"I felt I was the strongest of the group, and I didn't have to waste any time," Evenepoel said. "I just had to go for it. After my bad day on Tourmalet, I just had to turn the page and go for the stages."

In Friday's flat Stage 19, riders will travel 177.5 kilometers from La Baneza to Iscar, with a bunch sprint to the finish expected.

The 78th edition of the Vuelta ends on Sunday in Madrid after 21 stages and 3,153.8 kilometers, having begun in Barcelona.