"I will keep fighting" - Cian Uijtdebroeks not giving up despite Tour de Suisse struggles

There was much excitement about Cian Uijtdebroeks' return to racing after his impressive Giro d'Italia was ended prematurely by illness. Sadly, things haven't quite gone to plan for the Team Visma | Lease a Bike prospect at the Tour de Suisse.

Coming home 1:20 down on stage 5 winner Adam Yates, Uijtdebroeks now finds himself 9th in the general classification, 2:51 off the Maillot Jaune. "This was a very tough day," Uijtdebroeks reflected afterwards to Team Visma | Lease a Bike's official website. "On the final climb, the pace was high. Just like yesterday, I noticed that I still lack some explosiveness. When the competition accelerated, I quickly found my own pace. Then I tried to limit the loss."

Despite not yet being back at his very best, Uijtdebroeks hasn't totally given up hope of a good result at this Tour de Suisse. With plenty of climbing still to come in the next stages, there will also be plenty of opportunity for the young Belgian to launch himself up the general classification.

"Unfortunately, it wasn't my very best day. The differences towards the top five are still manageable. I notice that the basis is there, but I'm still a little short," he admits in conclusion. "Of course I will keep fighting. The next three days are not easy. It's definitely not done yet."

To make matters worse for Uijtdebroeks and Team Visma | Lease a Bike, their second prong of what they hoped would be a dual GC challenge in Switzerland, Wilco Kelderman, lost 1:45 on stage 5, dropping even further out of general classification contention. The experienced Dutch climber is now 12th in the overall at more than three minutes down on race leader and Maillot Jaune Adam Yates, perhaps feeling the affects of his crash on the previous day's stage.