“When I see the numbers on my Garmin, I'm not scared" – Cian Uijtdebroeks confident on his shape ahead of the World Championships

Cian Uijtdebroeks will represent Belgium at the upcoming men’s road race at the World Championships in Rwanda, taking place on September 28. The young talent will be one of the men surrounding Remco Evenepoel, who is one of the main favourites to become the new world champion.

“When Serge (Pauwels) said he absolutely wanted me here, it was an honor,” Uijtdebroeks said to Sporza, showing gratitude for the confidence the Belgian manager has placed in him.

When asked whether his recent performance at Clásica de San Sebastián, where he finished ninth and showed great legs, was a decisive factor to be selected to ride in Rwanda, Uijtdebroeks noted, “True, but that's a more explosive race without hour-long climbs. It was surprising to me that I rode so well there. That motivates me to pay more attention to the one-day work.”

He is aware that the Rwandan course will be far steeper than most races he has faced: “It's incredibly steep here. Mount Kigali is three times the size of the final climb in San Sebastian, but at 35 degrees and at altitude.”

The Belgian rider is focused on fine-tuning his preparation, as he knows the race will be extremely demanding. “I have to make sure I'm ready there, because I'm sure the bomb will explode there and then everything has to be put in order.”

He has closely monitored the impact of altitude on his performance, and he admits he is lucky that altitude doesn't negatively impact his performance. “I'm lucky enough to have that from Mother Nature. We see that in training too. I lose very little during intervals at altitude. Usually, you should expect a 4 percent loss from 1,400 meters onwards, and an additional 1 percent per 100 meters. That's how you get a 10 percent loss in performance. But if I push 430 watts, for example, that would be maybe 440 watts at sea level. So that difference is very small.”

Uijtdebroeks is confident in his ability to manage the demanding course, as his shape has been good recently. “When I see the numbers on my Garmin, I'm not scared. It's nice that I can ride around here without fear.”

Yet he is mindful of the extreme conditions, mostly the temperature: “The heat will be a bigger challenge than the altitude,” he admitted, recalling that during training, “I was drinking a liter an hour during training and was still dehydrated.”