"It is difficult to say where I stand compared to the Vuelta last year" - Cian Uijtdebroeks starts Giro d'Italia as Team Visma | Lease a Bike's GC hope

After his protracted and controversial move from BORA - hansgrohe to Team Visma | Lease a Bike over the recent off-season, Cian Uijtdebroeks gets his first Grand Tour chance in the colours of his new team at the upcoming Giro d'Italia.

So far this year, the 21-year-old Belgian has been solid if not spectacular. A 5th-placed finish overall at Gran Camino in support of Jonas Vingegaard and 7th overall in a similarly supportive role at Tirreno-Adriatico showed positive signs. A disappointing Volta a Catalunya last time out, abandoning on the final stage, wasn't perfect preparation for the Giro but nevertheless, Uijtdebroeks is excited to for the next few weeks of racing.

"I feel good," said Uijtdebroeks, who is tasked with continuing Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Grand Tour dominance over the past 12 months, in a pre-Giro d'Italia press conference. "After the Volta a Catalunya I had a good rest and then I started building up again. I feel fresh. It is difficult to say where I stand compared to, say, the Vuelta last year."

Aside from the presence of Tadej Pogacar, potentially the biggest threat to Uijtdebroeks' general classification ambitions is the lack of a top-quality time-trial. "The time trials will certainly be important," he admits, with a pair of ITTs on this year's Giro d'Italia route. "It is still a work point for me and it will take another one or two years before I am really perfect on the bike."