"I hope from the bottom of my heart that it's not true" - BORA - hansgrohe's Vuelta DS on allegation of Cian Uijtdebroeks bullying claims
Cycling
As more and more details of Cian Uijtdebroeks' fallout with BORA - hansgrohe come to light, serious allegations of bullying against the young Belgian were revealed in the past few days. Jean-Pierre Heynderickx was BORA's sports director at the Vuelta a Espana and has now given his reaction to these allegations.
"I fell off my chair when I heard that. I was completely surprised," Heynderickx has responded in conversation with Het Laatste Nieuws about allegations that there was a separate WhatsApp group during the Vuelta a Espana that the team, minus Uijtdebroeks, used to trash talk and moan about the Belgian. "I'm quite annoyed by this. If it's true, then it happened behind my back and I feel caught out. I would consider that extremely low."
Despite the rumoured turmoil behind the scenes, Uijtdebroeks impressed on the bike and finished 8th overall in the general classification, just seven seconds behind teammate Aleksandr Vlasov. "I wouldn't let it pass and would absolutely want to know who set up that WhatsApp group," Heynderickx insists. "Which riders and staff were part of it and what was said and written. I hope from the bottom of my heart that it's not true."
"Cian is Cian. A top talent who lives extremely and who is driven and passionate about his profession. He looks for all the 'marginal gains', all the extra percentages in the fields of training, nutrition, care. He leaves nothing to chance," he says of Uijtdebroeks. "In December, he already knows exactly what he'll do next season – when he'll go on training camps and so on. I don't think you can blame him for that attitude. On the contrary, he can only be encouraged in this. In a group of 30 people there is often laughter and banter with and about each other. But that doesn't give you the right to bully or finish someone off."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
Loading
If you're curious why uninvolved team managers were so vocal about Cian Uijtdebroeks wanting to leave an existing contract. 1. They don't want their riders to try the same thing. 2. They don't like Plugge and will take every opportunity to criticise him, partially because Plugge
1 Comments