Cian Uijtdebroeks teams up with Jonas Vingegaard in Team Visma | Lease a Bike debut, aims for Giro d'Italia GC: "Is that ninth or fourth, it doesn't matter"

Cian Uijtdebroeks is making his season debut at Gran Camino in late February, where he will have the chance to team up with Jonas Vingegaard right away. This will be his first race as he begins his preparation towards the Giro d'Italia.

"It would be nice if I could still improve considerably. I go to the Giro with the idea of winning a lot of stages with the team, but on the other hand I want to go to the Giro with the idea of finishing as high as possible," the 20-year old shared on MOVE Amsterdam. "Is that ninth or fourth, it doesn't matter. We have to make the most of it and get better step by step, I'm still only twenty years old. It's a matter of trying a lot and making those mistakes so that we don't make them again within three to four years." A long-term goal for a rider who is expected to be one of the generation's best when it comes to this type of racing.

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He tells that after Gran Camino he will head to Tirreno-Adriatico, and then return to the Volta a Catalunya where he expressed satisfaction this year over the type of climbs. He should be a prime overall classification contender for all the following races, and he will then build towards the Giro d'Italia with an eye on the GC. He's also talked about how he was in contact with the Dutch team for a long time (since his junior years), but now was the right moment to make the move: "At that moment I was already talking to Richard (Plugge - Jumbo-Visma CEO, ed.). I was a first-year junior at the time and I had a good feeling about the team."

"But at BORA they also had a junior team and I knew that that step from junior to professional would not be easy. If I had already been in the juniors for a year, that would be easier. I have no regrets, because you can't say I rode badly. It would have been an easier path, but every career has its twists and turns and ups and downs. And now I'm here."

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CyclingUpToDate Rating 2023 | UAE Team Emirates: 9.06