"Possible that it's a problem with the femoral artery" - Jose de Cauwer thinks he knows what's harming Cian Uijtdebroeks' Vuelta a Espana hopes

After a bright Giro d'Italia showing was ended early through illness earlier this year, hopes were high for Cian Uijtdebroeks at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana, with the Belgian posing as a GC plan-B for the team. Sadly however, things have not gone well so far.

With the first week now in the legs, Uijtdebroeks is just short of 45 minutes down on the Red Jersey of Ben O'Connor. After suffering a big time loss on stage 7, a confused Uijtdebroeks reflected in his struggles with VTM. “I rode as hard as I can, but I still have a numb feeling in my legs and everything just blocks," he explained. "We have often said that it could be due to fatigue or 'this or that', but it can't be that it keeps coming back. It can't just be fatigue every time. I have never experienced riding around with such a numb feeling. I just can't do anything anymore. That is not normal. On such a short climb I should be able to sit much more at the front.”

Sporza pundit and Belgian cycling expert Jose de Cauwer heard these comments from his young compatriot and believes he may know the root cause of the issues noted by Uijtdebroeks in his interview. "It turns out that you can know and measure a lot, but Team Visma | Lease a Bike also did not see this coming," begins De Cauwer. "Otherwise you would not put him in the Vuelta."

"It is absolutely possible that it's a problem with the femoral artery," continues De Cauwer, referencing a problem that many in the peloton have suffered with over the years. "It's possible it only surfaced here. In that case, it is not worth letting him continue riding. There needs to be a thorough analysis," he concludes with noted concern for Uijtdebroeks.