Cian Uijtdebroeks admits internal competition and tension with Aleksandr Vlasov: "He would rather end up in front of me"

Much has been said of the possible internal battle within Jumbo-Visma, which has repeatedly been denied by the team, but a different battled has brewed during the Vuelta a Espana. Cian Uijtdebroeks talks of tension within BORA - hansgrohe and Aleksandr Vlasov.

“Gaining a place in the standings will be difficult, so I especially want to hold on to seventh place. Even though the competition comes from my own team, as we have seen in previous stages," Uijtdebroeks told Het Laatste Nieuws. “Hopefully everyone is correct and we don't do anything stupid. It would be stupid to let João Almeida gain another place because Vlasov would attack me.”

The duo sit seventh and eighth in the overall classification, however relatively isolated from the Top10. Ahead of them Enric Mas who fights for fourth spot, whilst behind is João Almeida, almost two minutes behind the Russian climber. Uijtdebroeks, on his Grand Tour debut, feels there is no need for the team to go on the attack on the final mountain stage, unlike what happened two days ago: “I'm young and I think that plays a role. I just think we should try to secure it today. I also thought the previous stage was a bit ridiculous," the Belgian said of Vlasov's attack together with Nico Denz before the final climb to Cruz de Linares.

Vlasov starts stage 20 58 seconds behind the 20-year old but Uijtdebroeks believes he still has the ambition to climb higher in the GC, even if the only figure he'd overtake would be his teammate. “I feel there is a certain tension. He would rather end up in front of me, even though that doesn't really matter to me," he tells. "Do I dare to hit the table? I sometimes say my thoughts, yes, but this is also part of cycling. It is also the case in Formula 1."