Visma departure, Movistar signing, and a surprise Tour de France debut - Cian Uijtdebroeks talks through chaotic months and what 2026 holds

Cian Uijtdebroeks was one of the starts at Movistar Team's presentation this afternoon in Valencia, in which CyclingUpToDate attended. A relaxed Cian Uijtdebroeks talked to the media and discussed his move to the Spanish team, why he left Team Visma | Lease a Bike, and why he is racing the Tour de France as his main goal in 2026.

Within a plethora of Spanish riders and an audience made up almost fully of the country's population, the Belgian was the first person to talk English at La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. It certainly highlighted how odd of a signing it was, one of the most unexpected of this winter. Uijtdebroeks' goals and ambitions no longer matched with those of Visma, and the team didn't resist and let him look for a new contract.

The differences in racing cultures is something the riders feel in their skin. "Yeah, I think with BORA, it's maybe more similar also like, okay, German culture and Spanish culture, you cannot compare. But I think, yeah, a big difference with Visma is, yeah, the Dutch culture is for sure, it's really strict," he said in a group interview following the presentation. "Also, Visma is a team with typical philosophy, training philosophy, racing philosophy, like everything, let's say. What works for a lot of riders doesn't work for everyone". Uijtdebroeks' words portrait his opinion, and naturally he is not the only one in a team that seeks to be the best in the world.

For a young rider, who also developed with so much media attention from a very young age, it was a necessary change. "And I think this is more relaxed here. Here, they built the training, they built the nutrition, they built the program around the goals of the rider. Like, I can also share my goals, share my thoughts. And that's insanely important for me also to be motivated to go for your goals," he explains. "It's like that you have a little bit of input somehow. And yeah, this is something that I missed a bit in the last years and what I really find back here".

In 2024 Uijtdebroeks began suffering from a debilitating nerve injury which often affected his lower back. For over a year he struggled with performances, and only in August of this year did he look to be back to his best. But the team's level, combined with his recent health issues, meant there wasn't a promise of participating in the races he hoped for.

The rift began appearing then: "Yeah, mostly, let's say, when we started talking about the race program. Yeah, we came actually with a question because it was not possible to ride Vuelta and then we said, okay, if you want to, after, you know, the injuries that I had and everything, if you want to take it more chill, okay. But in 26, I need to be in a Grand Tour. If you want to develop me as a Grand Tour rider, we need to go to the Grand Tours, in my opinion".

"And yeah, they were, they could not promise it to me. They were like, yeah, we don't know yet. So that was also already hard for me somehow because, yeah, my ambitions are just, yeah, to go for the highest possible GC. And for sure in co-leadership, this is possible. And also, like, if Jonas [Vingegaard] is on top of the game, for sure you help him".

The Belgian understands why he couldn't be promised that, but it's not something he was willing to forego. "For sure I also understand on the other side, you know, they have guys as Jonas and they want, yeah, fully support them. And I know also I'm not the rider who will be able to position you the best. Like, I need to be positioned, you know. So I understand their point of view, if they want to do, I don't know, two of the three Grand Tours already with Jonas, then the spots become smaller with Simon Yates, with Matteo Jorgenson".

"So I understand their point of view, but for sure for me, that was a disappointment after being injured for so long. But that gave also like this opportunity somehow, what is for me a really big opportunity". UIijtdebroeks finished eighth in his Grand Tour debut at the 2023 Vuelta a España and was long hinted to be a top stage-racer. In Movistar, he regains a leading position.

"I think they didn't have enough, let's say, leaders for those races. They have Enric [Mas], but yeah, then next to it, yeah, there was a big gap. And that I saw as a really big opportunity to join it and to build with this team towards it. Like, I think my goals and the team's goals are the same. We want to shine in those races. And that was a really big opportunity that opened itself".

He is now getting used to the new environment, even if he continues to be an outlier amongst a mostly Spanish team and staff. "Yeah, I've done like the team days now already, yeah, together with the team. We have done some testing, worked already now for some time with my coach together. So, yeah, I start to know everyone a little bit, know the atmosphere of the team and everything. So now it suits me really well, I think. Yeah, already early, like in the season of 26, we have clear goals. We have a clear plan where we want to be on top of the game".

"The atmosphere in the team, like we are really welcome somehow and they are really happy that I joined the team. So, yeah, for now, it's a really positive impression. And also, yeah, not at all what they sometimes say, like Movistar is a bit relaxed and whatever. Like for sure, it's a bit more relaxed everything, but they are really professional," the Belgian assures. "Like I think what they have done with me in the last days, also with aero testing and everything, it's really how it needs to be".

The connection with Movistar for him was obvious, as he explains: "It happened really quick. For sure, yeah, we spoke with a lot of teams. But then it's also like, I trusted it. Like, in the end, you know, you all everywhere get opportunities and you can always go for a Grand Tour and whatever. But then it was just me speaking with the management and the feeling I had with the management. And that was such a calm feeling. I remember I spoke also with them in 2020, I think, or 21".

In here, he has already began working before the first training camp of the season, spending a lot of time focusing on his new time trial bike and material. "Because if you want to become better in it, you cannot do it with one aero test. You need to be training every week, two, three times a week on the bike. You need to do a lot of aero testing, wind tunnel testing, testing different suits. And this is what I find here. They want to also go along that project with me. And yeah, that's just great".

The writing looked to be on the wall. Uijtdebroeks had previously hinted at a return to the Giro d'Italia, and so there was a big surprise in store for the audience when on the podium, he announced that the Tour de France would be his major goal for the 2026 season.

Behind the scenes, he would expand on what his schedule is looking like: "So I will be starting in Valencia [...] I go to Paris-Nice next, Basque Country, and the Walloon (Ardennes, ed.) Classics are the next goals. And then the Tour, that's the ultimate goal for sure. I wanted to know the course of the Giro, but now we definitely decided we go all in for the Tour [...] So yeah, normally I will be alone there for the GC".

This also hints very heavily towards the absence of Enric Mas, who himself is recovering his level after an injury that ended his season at the Tour de France. This means big changes for the Spanish structure, and Evenepoel may be the team's big bet next July.

"For me, it's again fighting for the highest possible GC in every race and just developing myself there. And I've never done the Tour, so no clue what it will give, he anticipates. "But we need to be up there from day one, from the TTT till the last day. And then we see where it ends, if it's top ten, if it's top five, whatever. We don't know. But we're going to fight. Our goal is to be on the podium in the future and for this we're going to start working from now".