"There is one person who rides on another planet" - Cian Uijtdebroeks in the fight for podium as Giro d'Italia reaches first rest day

With 9 stages down at the 2024 Giro d'Italia, Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Cian Uijtdebroeks is fighting strongly amongst the podium contenders, sitting 5th in the GC at 4:02 down. 

"I surprised myself a bit," the 21-year-old Belgian reflects in his rest day press conference, just 1:04 off the podium after the first week of racing. "I thought I might lose more time in the time-trial and have more difficulties on the gravel stage. But I actually enjoyed the gravel stage. I'm very happy with how things are going now."

Heading into the Giro, Uijtdebroeks had intentions of improving on his 8th overall at the 2023 Vuelta a Espana. Having had such a solid opening week however, the Belgian's goals are beginning to shift. "There is one person who drives on another planet (Tadej Pogacar, ed.), but behind that the battle is open," he assesses. "It will be a good fight. So maybe top five is possible, but it's still a long way. I'm not going to commit to a result, but I'm just going to do my best every day."

With his teammate, Olav Kooij taking a win on stage 9, could Uijtdebroeks follow suit? “I don't necessarily aim for winning a stage. I focus on the general classification and it is more difficult to win a stage because of course you have Pogacar and other strong guys," he concludes. "If there's a chance, I'll be happy to grab it. But right now I'm really focusing on the rankings.”