Cian Uijtdebroeks launches criticism at Chrono des Nations failure from BORA - hansgrohe - "We'll see if Bora can offer me that or if I have to look for another team that can"

Uijtdebroeks took part in the Chrono des Nations with a view to working on his weak point on the bike: the time trial. But that wasn't to be, and the Belgian rider didn't mince his words and fired back at his team, Bora-hansgrohe, in a statement to Het Nieuwsblad.

"I was 10 kms into the race and my shifter came loose and I was immediately allowed to change bikes. But that spare bike wasn't right and I can race as fast as I want and can, but I'm not doing well. I come here to learn, so it would be great if my bikes were okay."

Cian Uijtdebroeks left a clear message. He wants his team to take things up a notch, especially in terms of time trials, "because that's something we really need to improve," he said. Ultimately the Belgian rode to 14th, over 4 minutes down on race winner Joshua Tarling.

"Especially in terms of aerodynamics and the construction of the bike itself, because there's a lot of room for evolution. I have the strength. Here, too, I pedal with my 65 kilos, in 1 hour, at almost 400 watts average. However, the whole frame needs to be adjusted, because we lose a lot with that."

With his sights set on the Giro, the Grand Tour he wants to take part in next year and whose route was unveiled on Friday, he says: "We've got two time trials there. We really don't have any more time to waste. This winter we'll have to spend a lot of time in the wind tunnel and on the slopes to finally get a more decent position on the bike. Racers like Evenepoel and Ayuso have a CDA ('Coefficient of Aerodynamic Drag': the lower it is, the more aerodynamic a racer is) of 1.5 and I'm at 1.9 to 2.0. I lose minutes with that. We haven't planned for this winter yet, but it seems very obvious to me that there's work to be done." Finishing with another criticism of his team, "You'd be stupid not to."

For 2024 Cian has a contract with Bora-Hansgrohe and he looks to his future without fear: "I've always had good planning so far and I've managed to make a lot of progress, and that's also thanks to the team. In other teams they would never have given me so much freedom. But we'll have to look at things carefully: what will it take to be truly competitive in the grand tours in the future? Then we'll see if Bora can offer me that or if I have to look for another team that can." Asked if he will leave his current team this summer, Cian is quick to reply: "No, I'm not thinking about it now and I don't think it's going to happen."