"I’ve probably done it around 50 times in my life" - Cian Uijtdebroeks eager to take on Mur de Huy and aim for top result at Flèche Wallonne

Cian Uijtdebroeks, Movistar Team’s leader for the Ardennes, tackles La Flèche Wallonne with optimism and the aim of testing himself on the brutal Mur de Huy before switching focus to Sunday’s Liège–Bastogne–Liège. The Belgian spoke to Cycling Pro Net before the start, sharing his thoughts on form and expectations.

He underlined how special it feels to race at home: “Yes, it’s a home race, so for me it’s waking up at home and going to training. Doing it for the first time here brings a special feeling.”

On his familiarity with the Mur de Huy, Uijtdebroeks made clear this is far from unknown terrain: “Yes, I know it quite well. I’ve probably done it around 50 times in my life since I was a kid. I know every stone up there.” After joining Movistar, the Belgian rider made it clear quite early on that he wanted to aim for strong results in the Belgian Ardennes, which are on a yearly basis becoming more suited to the climbers such as him due to the very fast speeds that are had all day long.

Assessing his chances on such an explosive finish, the Belgian was cautious, aware of the specificity of the decisive effort: “It’s a very specific effort, you know. It’s a very specific effort, we’ll find out today, I guess. It’s quite explosive as well.”

He also assessed his condition after a demanding racing block: “In recent weeks in the Basque Country I’ve felt good as well. So we’ll see. But positioning will be crucial. It’s a big part of the race and it’s my first time here. I want to discover myself and see how it goes.”

Uijtdebroeks added how he arrives physically after races like Itzulia and the Volta a Catalunya: “Yes, exactly. That’s also a bit of the question now, how fresh I still am. In the last trainings I still felt good, but these are definitely the last two races and then comes a recovery block.”

However on the roads of Wallonie, he won't be feeling the fatigue as much as he will be feeling the joy of racing at home, specially in the leader role for the first time in these World Tour classics: “ t’s super nice because they (friends and family, ed.) don’t get many chances to see me, as I usually race in other countries. So it’s really nice for them too.”