Kaden Groves' departure from Alpecin appears to be sealed with the expected signing of Casper van Uden
CyclingFriday, 10 July 2026 at 09:00
The game of music chairs continues behind the scenes in the sprinter guild. The word is already out that both Swiss ProTeams are on the lookout to freshen their options into bunch finishes. This opens up spots to fill out for their rival teams, in particular Alpecin-Premier Tech who are close to signing Casper van Uden from Picnic PostNL, HLN reports.
While Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling seem to have settled for rising Belgian talent Tom Crabbe alongside established WorldTour sprinter Pavel Bittner. Their counterparts from Tudor Pro Cycling appear to have secured the signings of Arnaud De Lie as well as Kaden Groves.
These vacancies will have to be fulfilled. At Lotto-Intermarché, there's no clear information about incoming reinforcements (although Sebastian Molano has been mentioned in connection with the Belgian outfit). In the meantime, Alpecin-Premier Tech have made a move for Dutch sprinter with one Giro d'Italia stage win to his name, Casper van Uden.
The 24-year-old certainly has had better seasons than the on-going one. In 2026, he has won only once - at the Tour of Turkey. Van Uden also competed at the Giro d'Italia this spring, but a 10th place in crash-marred Napoli stage was his only notable result.
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Can Van Uden replace Groves?
While this dismal record is representative across the entire Dutch team, Van Uden has certainly displayed brighter flashes of his talent in the past.
Just a year ago at the Giro, he finished first and second in stages. And a further year prior, he had four professional triumphs to his name. Next to that, Van Uden has shown glimpses of potential for the cobbled classics - a valued skill at the Classic-oriented Alpecin-Premier Tech.
In the Belgian team, he will have to fill out the role of departing Kaden Groves as the team's number two sprinter behind Jasper Philipsen. The Australian has not race much this season, setting the short-term bar for Van Uden quite low, but as a nine-time Grand Tour stage winner (in Alpecin jersey), the Dutchman will need to bounce back from lesser last few months rather quickly in his new outfit.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- They might have talked about it and laughed over dinner, but Remco I think doesn't forget slights so easily. He is pissed that he didn't get full leadership. People complain about Remco but I like his character. He is is fun to watch and listen to. While Pog is off doing his thing it makes for a great distraction. One thing is sure that from position one down, the rest of the tour is going to be interesting.Cyclingsbestfan10-07-2026
- Why are we surprised, this was inevitable!slappers6610-07-2026
- he said 'I don’t currently see Jonas Vingegaard as being much better than Florian Lipowitz or Paul Seixas.' --> he did not mention remco in this comparison ... quite telling i would say ...Ketterechts10-07-2026
- Grabbing the Popcorn! The Remco show is gonna Start!Alexcavalera10-07-2026
- Pog looked exhausted at the finish too, though of course happy., and he admitted to Del Toro that he had been on his limit at one point. It's like people are watching different races sometimes, but I guess that's the human experience.Hills3310-07-2026
- Massive respect for Jonas yesterday he dug in and limited losses which could have been even more. I feared for him on the descent of the Tourmalet, for the first couple of kms he did not look in control.slappers6610-07-2026
- LOL! What about now after stage six?MajorPayne10-07-2026
- Remco still doesn't understand team tactics. Lipo was more than 20 seconds ahead at the top. He needs to sit back behind the Lidl riders and the others and save his energy. If the other riders close the gap, he needs to put evertyhing in one lethal attack and time trial home alone. If the others don't catch up, Lipo, his teammate, gains on all but Seixas and del Toro. He can sit in the third group for most of the final ascent with an excuse and then attack them with a few kilometres to go and gain time on everyone but Lipo, del Toro and Seixas. A double win for Red Bull. Instead, he makes sure all of them arrive at the same time. What a selfish idiot. Lipo has beaten him every time over the past year when they met. What an arrogant idiot. Sorry to describe this so lengthily - this is not for the fans (they all get this). This is for Remco, the only one that doesn't get it.MaMu10-07-2026
- yeah what is he upset about? he finished in front of Sepp.mij10-07-2026
- yeah really great point. Lipo crested the summit well ahead of Remcomij10-07-2026
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