"I will be racing again on Friday!" - Cian Uijtdebroeks hopeful of finally having his "physical issue under control" after nightmare spell

It's been a long road for Team Visma | Lease a Bike prospect Cian Uijtdebroeks in his fight against lingering injuries, but after we reported yesterday that he was finally training pain free, the Belgian himself has now confirmed an imminent return to racing this Friday.

Earlier this week, Uijtdebroeks posted a picture of himself riding to his official Instagram stories, captioning the post: "Problems are there to be solved. Step by step we are getting back." This was welcome news for fans of the 22-year-old, after a persistent feeling of dead legs had plagued much of his first year and a bit at Team Visma | Lease a Bike, the problem seemingly proving difficult to fix for the team's medical experts.

There continues to be positive updates from camp Uijtdebroeks though, and in a new upload to his Instagram account, the former Tour de l'Avenir winner confirms his imminent return to racing in France this Friday at Classic Grand Besançon Doubs.

"After a period off the bike, the necessary adaptations in collaboration with a great team around me to get the physical issue under control, I will be racing again on Friday!" Uijtdebroeks writes with tangible excitement. "This in order to test the process that we are following to solve this issue and to build up the shape for goals later on the season! Let’s enjoy it."

Looking further into the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider's programme for the coming weeks and months, following his return this Friday, Uijtdebroeks is pencilled in for a busy weekend of racing as he's also provisionally set to be involved at Tour du Jura Cycliste on Saturday the 19th of April and the Tour du Doubs on Sunday the 20th.

From there, the Tour de Romandie, Tour of Slovenia and the Tour de Suisse are all on Uijtdebroeks schedule, although it's likely a lot of that will depend on whether the dead leg issue is truly gone for good.