Cian Uitjdebroeks back to training ahead of La Vuelta - Belgian hopes to save Movistar's Grand Tour season
Cycling
Cian Uijtdebroeks was Movistar's major signing for this season, but his season hasn't gone all to well when it came to its key moment. The Belgian rider was forced to abandon the Tour de France due to illness and the brutal weather, conditions, but is preparing for the Vuelta a España where he will be one of Movistar's leaders.
Uijtdebroeks aims to bring light to maiden season at Movistar
Uijtdebroeks was the face at the Movistar team presentation last December in Valencia, bringing in a different nature to an otherwise almost fully-Spanish block. The transfer in itself was a major catch for the Spanish team, who worked behind the scenes to sign a rider that was still under contract with Team Visma | Lease a Bike.
They brought in a leader, an Uijtdebroeks who was back to full health after over a year of problems in the Dutch team. He was fifth at Milano-Torino, eighth at the Volta a Catalunya and 12th at Itzulia Basque Country - like Primoz Roglic, losing several positions on the final day.
Uijtdebroeks had the Ardennes classics and the Tour de France set up as his big goals. He rode to seventh place at the Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes, assuring that his goal of a Top10 was viable after strong performances in the mountains. But at the Tour, the race did not go his way.
After the two stages in Barcelona, Movistar explained the reasoning behind his modest performances: "Cian Uijtdebroeks has been dealing since yesterday with a feverish process that has forced him to ride the last two stages far from his best condition. It is not the Tour de France start we expected, but Cian has the support of all his teammates and staff during these difficult days. The team will continue to monitor his evolution over the coming stages.”
Eventually, he dropped out of the race on stage 6, having struggled early on in the mountains of the Pyrenees. His health at the time was already worrying, as DS Jurgen Roelands explained:
“The heat and his stomach problems meant he could not keep enough fluids or energy inside. After he vomited on the descent of the Aspin, we told him that it had been enough.”
Cian Uijtdebroeks abandoned the Tour de France
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The Belgian hasn't raced since and has been training at altitude in Andorra. He has confirmed that he will be one of Movistar's riders at the upcoming Vuelta a España.
"After leaving the Tour due to illness, we started together with @xamuot (coach Xabier Muriel, ed.) and the team a rebuild and preparation for La Vuelta," he shared in an Instagram post. "Day by day and step by step we work to be 100% at the start in Monaco. Looking forward to be in the peloton again soon!"
For the Spanish team, the Vuelta is naturally a major goal. The startlist gains shape but in the meantime, Movistar's lineup is almost fully confirmed. Enric Mas will join Uijtdebroeks in pursuit of a strong overall classification result.
Einer Rubio and Nairo Quintana will link up in the mountains as key support men as well as stage hunters on the mountain days; whilst the trio of Iván Romeo, Pablo Castrillo and Raul García Pierna will also be present - all of them strong contenders to win on hilly days through breakaways. Only one more rider will be added to the lineup.
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.
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- Perhaps he has what Mark Cavendish had, the Epstein-Barr Virus. It caused him severe and unexplained chronic fatigue. I hope he gets better.
parisbound0001-11-2026 - How can medical staff act like that? pretty disgraceful! the guys down and they're near seeing him off ;/
leedorney01-11-2026 - I think that this is exactly what Jonas needs at this point in his career. It's something that could revive his passion for winning, and he's physically more than capable of winning one of those races as well.
santiagobenites01-11-2026 - What a great race! Couldn't look away. Can't wait for the euros
Rafionain-Glas01-11-2026 - I think other competitors also had great Tours, so it wasn't that Ferrand-Prévot necessarily failed in some way - it's more likely that the other top riders lifted their game and maybe also a bit of luck with no crashes, etc. It's the Tour de France after all. It's not meant to be easy to defend your title (the few exceptions like Pogacar prove the rule).Pogboom01-11-2026
- maybe we should put our cv at the end of each comment post ... same rights for all of us!Ketterechts01-11-2026
- hahah literally all it is. Glad im not the only one noticing, essentially this is just a blog as it is now. Run buy boys from their bedroom hehe Their very subjective aswell, people on twitter even said their pure visma fanboys, if you listen to Ruben silva guy pre TDF this year all he said turned out to be wrong and constantly fail to realize visma isnt where they was before roster wice or means to contest even RBH or Lidl anymore, ,very biased ppl and when you run ''news articles that way its problematic..miguel01-11-2026
- The new joke of the year in 2027: "If both guys (Pogi and Seixas) finish upright on their bikes and both don't get sick for some reason, I think Paul will fight Tadej to the end and will possibly beat him in 2027 at the Tour, yes, I just said that." ... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ...PogiSloFans01-11-2026
- Cutting his suit up and getting him to sign it while quite seriously injured is absolutely ghoulishwrsty01-11-2026
- 24 years old?Ketterechts01-11-2026
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