"That was the turning point..." - Cian Uijtdebroeks on what pushed him out of Visma and into Movistar

Cian Uijtdebroeks is Movistar Team's big signing for the 2026 season. The Dutchman lands in Eusebio Unzué's team after forcing his departure from Team Visma | Lease a Bike and hopes to be an alternative to Enric Mas to lead the team in grand tours.

This weekend he has been in the Canary Islands in Gran Canaria climbing the Pico de las Nieves in an exhibition with cyclists of the stature of Tadej Pogacar or Jasper Philipsen. In an interview with Marca he talked about the keys to his landing in Movistar and what he expects from the next campaign:

Reason for leaving for Movistar: "Visma is a huge team, with many victories in grand tours, but my objectives did not coincide with theirs. I want to fight for the overall in the grand tours and, although they had ambition for me, it wasn't planned for now," he admitted. His injuries slowed down his progress, and the team is able to depend on several other leaders. "To be good overall I need to race three weeks. I already tried one week, I already did top 10 in La Vuelta 2023, but I want more. That's where the difference in vision was born. Movistar offered me that from the first minute".

The good feeling from the first moment: "I came here because it gave me a very positive feeling. I spoke with several teams, and the question was always: "Why Movistar? From the first contact with Sebastián, with Eusebio, with the management, I felt calm, valued, almost at home. That feeling was decisive".

The key to his farewell to Visma: "At the end of this season, when we talked about next year's program. First we solved my physical problems and then we went into sports. Visma said it would be difficult for me to race a grand tour in 2026. That was the turning point: our visions no longer coincided."

Goal of the year: "We've already talked a lot. I'll race the classics, Ardennes... and then we'll choose between the Giro and the Vuelta. The route of the Vuelta is very hard and I like it a lot, but the Giro also appeals to me, it's the first big tour of the year and starting early motivates me. It will depend on the route and the kilometers against the clock, because we don't want to lose time for free." Most likely, the Belgian will ride both, the first as a leader and the second to be learnt later in the year.

Where to improve: "Some more explosiveness and improve in the time trial. I'm not going to win a time trial over Pogacar or Evenepoel, but I can not lose too much. I'm powerful and I can sustain long efforts. Movistar wants to invest in that and that's one of the reasons for my signing".

Bad moments: "When everything works, you see it in the data and you know you are doing well. What's complicated is not understanding why something isn't working. Now I know that I can't try to be a Victor Campenaerts on the bike. Every rider is different. You can talk about aerodynamics, but if you look at the best in the world, Tadej Pogacar, you wouldn't say his strength is there. I've understood that there are things that are not for me."

Learning from the bad moments: "It was very hard. Since I was a junior I was always in front: top 10, top 5... And suddenly I went from top 10 to withdrawing. That really hurts. And the worst thing was not knowing why: you train well, you eat well, you do everything right... and your leg says enough. When we found out that it was all because of the position of the saddle and how it affected the muscle, I breathed. We changed that and I came back. But that emptiness, until you know what's going on, is horrible."

Chris Froome, his idol: "Froome was the most professional of them all. He wasn't the most elegant, but he lived for his sport. That inspires me. I want to do the same: build with Movistar a path to where I want to get to."

Flèche Wallonne, goal: "It would be a dream. The Flèche Wallonne is ten minutes from my home. I've already raced San Sebastian and Lombardia; if I work more on my explosiveness, maybe I can get to that level. I'm a long effort climber, but today the climbers are more explosive. That's my next step".