BORA - hansgrohe DS Bernhard Eisel denies 'bullying' allegations and believes Cian Uijtdebroeks got all the support possible: "We did everything we could for him"
Cycling
Thijs Zonneveld has shared that several sources told him that within BORA - hansgrohe there was not much liking to Cian Uijtdebroeks and that during the Vuelta a Espana even a chat group was created to talk about him. Quickly this was denied by team DS Bernhard Eisel, who argues the situation was the exact opposite.
“100% I can deny that. Definitely not. Especially from my side, and the the riders’ side. He had a team that looked after him, Aleks Vlasov had his team that looked after him and, from my point of view, they did an incredible job to protect him," Eisel responded to GCN this Tuesday morning. The allegations are of serious misconduct within the team and quite a lot of criticism emerged on social media - although there is, at the time being, no concrete evidence. "We did everything we could for him. I have to deny that one. It’s that simple. 100% no."
Staff of BORA - hansgrohe and Team Visma | Lease a Bike have and will certainly continue to be questioned over the coming days about every single possible detail to try to get to the bottom of the situation. Uijtdebroeks' sudden departure is a sign that the situation with the German team was bad, but it is not known how much it has deteriorated. Eisel, who has led Uijtdebroeks during the Vuelta itself defends the team and states that there was in fact extra support given to Uijtdebroeks.
“Honestly I’m tired of the whole thing," the former pro admits. "I would say it was three times the effort for him than it was for Aleks in the role. If that’s not enough then it’s going to be difficult. From a professional standpoint in support, it was 100 per cent for him in the race. I’m not willing to add more. We did what we could and that’s it.”
Now however many more are getting involved, as a possible lawsuit is in hands, as well as the possibility of a €1 million euros payout. The teams are building their arguments whilst the UCI has not taken a decision but is closely monitoring it.
“There’s not much I can say about it. We have our statement that he’s under contract with us and Jumbo have said they’ve signed him. It will come down to court. That’s where we are at the moment," Eisel concluded.
Read also
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 5visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
Loading
🚨Put the allegations of bullying to Bora-Hansgrohe with regards to Cian Uijtdebroeks. They '100 percent' deny them. Said they put more effort into helping him than other riders. Should be noted that Uijtdebroeks has said nothing of the allegations at this point.
Write a comment