"Eighth place in the Vuelta will be his best final position in a Grand Tour" - Serious concerns raised over Cian Uijtdebroeks
Cycling
Cian Uijtdebroeks time at Team Visma | Lease a Bike is still yet to really get off the ground. Following his controversial move from BORA ahead of the start of the 2024 season, the Belgian has seen any momentum built up consistently scuppered by a feeling of dead legs. It was thought that the worst of the issue was over, but at Tirreno-Adriatico last week, the feeling returned with a vengeance.
Although many viewed Uijtdebroeks as a potential Grand Tour winner of the future not so long ago, in his two three-week stage races since joining Team Visma | Lease a Bike, both the 2024 Giro d'Italia and the 2024 Vuelta a Espana have ended with a DNF for the Belgian. As such, there is growing concern surrounding the future of the 22-year-old former Tour de l'Avenir winner.
As it turns out though, this worry over Uijdebroeks ceiling is not a completely new phenomenon. "I'm going back a year and a few months. I had written a column that I thought it was scandalous how BORA had treated Cian. At a meeting, a scout came up to me and said: 'Just make a note that that eighth place in the Vuelta (2023 ed.) will be his best final position in a Grand Tour ever,'" recalls Belgian cycling expert Michel Wuyts on the latest episode of his Wuyts & Vlaeminck podcast.
"I am starting to think about that now. I am not writing him off, but there must have been a problem at BORA that caused doubts. That seems like a logical conclusion to me, because why else would you say something like that?" Wuyts continues, admitting no further elaboration was given to him by the mysterious scout at the time. "It could be a bit of revenge, but it could also be true. Let's hope not."
Following his Tirreno-Adriatico abandon, Team Visma | Lease a Bike sports director Maarten Wynants spoke on Uijtdebroeks condition. "His morale is below zero now, that's normal," Wynants told Sporza. "Today it didn't work out again, so it's far from all sweetness and light. He's having back problems again, but for the rest, it's hard to put your finger on the problem. First, we have to wash away this disappointment and then look further."
Team Visma | Lease a Bike boss Richard Plugge however, is keen to reduce any fears. "Cian still has to grow, and that takes time," Plugge added. "We are known for making riders better, and with him too, we will grow step by step to a higher level. He needs the time that everyone needs at that age."
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I’d say without resolving the back problems you have no chance of resolving his state of mind. Now, back problems in young cyclists is probably going to become an issue like e.g. concussion in rugby & football. As we try to catch and form them for high performance younger and younger, we’re kind of obliging them to hone their TT skills earlier and earlier, certainly still during growth phases. Those hours in those positions are likely to have complex effects in some.
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