Teams & Riders Cian Uijtdebroeks - From the wetlands to the top of cycling

[Rackham]

Bora aren't happy:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1734525950551883921

View: https://twitter.com/GcnRacing/status/1734525950551883921

 

[SafeBet]

Then there are multiple sources that say Uijtdebroeks was a misfit at Bora, weighing his food, buying different socks, all the marginal gains that nobody else at Bora sought. Teammates and management treated him like an annoying little nerd

So these multiple sources are claiming that Tim Podlogar, researcher, professional nutrionist, someone I would call the ultimate nerd of performance related food issues, is not competent enough?
I really have a hard time believing nobody at Bora is seeking marginal gains.

 

[CyclistAbi]

If it's true love, and there is not enough money to run away together, it can wait a year.

P.S. Now go home to your wife Bora, Cian.

 

[theyoungest]

So these multiple sources are claiming that Tim Podlogar, researcher, professional nutrionist, someone I would call the ultimate nerd of performance related food issues, is not competent enough?
I really have a hard time believing nobody at Bora is seeking marginal gains.

It doesn't mean nobody working at Bora is competent... Victor Campenaerts has also said that back when he was still at Lotto-Jumbo they thought he was a bit of a weirdo, doing all the things that Jumbo are now famous for. There could also be an element of the young guy threatening the old guard here.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Of course to turn this into less of a PR disaster (and a possibly nasty court case for Uijtdebroeks) they could have payed the one million euros... that is if they even had the money. But right now it's simply impossible to know if they acted responsibly or not. For what it's worth, I think it's good that Plugge has made himself the target of all kinds of slander, and protecting Uijtdebroeks in that way. He should keep it up though, and not throw Uijtdebroeks under the bus if he'll lose his court case.

Thanks for the perspective on Zonneveld.

I would suggest that given that V|LAB announced the signing of a rider without reference to the team to which he is under contract (and UCI rules refer to the timescle of a contract, regardless of whether there has been a resignation), that they seem to have accepted the word of Uijtdebroeks's camp without checking, the failure to get authorisation from the president of PPC it is very possible to know whether they have acted responsibly.

If you think that Plugge has protected Uijtdebroeks from public ire by his actions I would suggest a trip to the opticians.

 

[Berniece]

If there was actually a WhatsApp group deliberately created without Cian to gossip about him, that’s reason enough to leave such a toxic environment.

 

[Keldergoat]

On behalf of those of us not immersed in Dutch journalism: who is Zonneveld, who does he work for, and what record of bias does he have?

He's very well informed, he scooped quite some big stories: the Dumoulin to Jumbo-saga, doping stories of Chantal Blaak and Karsten Kroon. Works for Algemeen Dagblad, arguably one of the two biggest newspapers in the Netherlands but more on the tabloid side than quality journalism (more the Sun than the Guardian). Can't deny the guy he has some decent sources within the peloton. His writing style is totally not my cup of tea and also on the issue of doping related journalism he walks the thin line between being holier than the pope and in the meanwhile making tons of money on a Thomas Dekker biography. But undoubtedly he's a journo making a mark.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Of course to turn this into less of a PR disaster (and a possibly nasty court case for Uijtdebroeks) they could have payed the one million euros... that is if they even had the money. But right now it's simply impossible to know if they acted responsibly or not. For what it's worth, I think it's good that Plugge has made himself the target of all kinds of slander, and protecting Uijtdebroeks in that way. He should keep it up though, and not throw Uijtdebroeks under the bus if he'll lose his court case.

TBF it would be pretty funny for Plugge to be swanning around acting like Florentino Pérez without actually having the money to make problems go away.

 

[joseph89]

So these multiple sources are claiming that Tim Podlogar, researcher, professional nutrionist, someone I would call the ultimate nerd of performance related food issues, is not competent enough?
I really have a hard time believing nobody at Bora is seeking marginal gains.

Same Tim Podlogar?

 

[Salvarani]

Bora aren't happy:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1734525950551883921

View: https://twitter.com/GcnRacing/status/1734525950551883921

So he responded by saying something that potentially can be seen as bullying him? Smart.

 

[Faserr]

That's not bullying. If that's bullying Uijtebroeks was bullying Bora in public, too. They just don't liked each other anymore.

Creating a WhattsApp group to ride against him and make fun of him is bullying. If such a group existed and if actually bullying happened there is far from clear.

 

[Lequack]

Now Bora will have to bully Rogla instead.

 

[Salvarani]

That's not bullying. If that's bullying Uijtebroeks was bullying Bora in public, too. They just don't liked each other anymore.

Creating a WhattsApp group to ride against him and make fun of him is bullying. If such a group existed and if actually bullying happened there is far from clear.

Yeah, because bullying is easy to define and other people decide if you were bullied or not.

Hence why "potentially" was thrown in there for a reason in my post.

 

[CyclistAbi]

In this story and in my opinion it's both Visma and the new manager that should know better. That is you can't make an offer of 100k to another team and if denied to still sign the rider.

 

[Rob5091]

As long as Visma have some of the Roglic money (3.7 million Euros apparently) left to pay compensation, then Bora are onto a losing thing as the EU Labour Laws will surely back Cian.

 

[theyoungest]

That's not bullying. If that's bullying Uijtebroeks was bullying Bora in public, too.

He's basically saying that Uijtdebroeks is a lot of work... which is actually what Zonneveld suggested as well, that his team thought he was being too fussy and difficult. If you want to deny the report, maybe not a smart thing to say.

 

[Salvarani]

In this story and in my opinion it's both Visma and the new manager that should know better. That is you can't make an offer of 100k to another team and if denied to still sign the rider.

Where does it say that you cant?

It is a dirty way to do business, I agree with that, but it is not entirely prohibited as far as I know.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

He's basically saying that Uijtdebroeks is a lot of work... which is actually what Zonneveld suggested as well, that his team thought he was being too fussy and difficult. If you want to deny the report, maybe not a smart thing to say.

Not necessarily: he can equally be interpreted as saying that they did all they could to help him in La Vuelta, he needed more help than Vlasov (a much more experienced rider, so not surprising) to do not quite as well.

 

[CyclistAbi]

As long as Visma have some of the Roglic money (3.7 million Euros apparently) left to pay compensation, then Bora are onto a losing thing as the EU Labour Laws will surely back Cian.

So why is van Aert still going to courts then and currently compensation set to 600k?

 

[CyclistAbi]

Where does it say that you cant?

It is a dirty way to do business, I agree with that, but it is not entirely prohibited as far as I know.

Legal system in EU?

 

[Salvarani]

He's basically saying that Uijtdebroeks is a lot of work... which is actually what Zonneveld suggested as well, that his team thought he was being too fussy and difficult. If you want to deny the report, maybe not a smart thing to say.

He will fit right in with the Dutch team.

As Ajax once said "We like arrogant people here at Ajax". Think it was in reference to Van Gaal, who for many years of his career been referred to as an "odd ball" and very arrogant.

I just wanted to add a football tidbit myself, since it has been thrown around in here.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Bora team in la Vuelta was Vlasov, Buchman, kemna, Zwihoff, Denz, higuita, koch. Are these the guys who were allegedly bullying Ujtedbreckes or was it the staff members??

 

[CyclistAbi]

Lets not forget Roglič was bullied too, at Vuelta 2023, by his team. And that was not ground for dismissal of his contract with JV. Compensation was needed to be agreed upon by both teams. Bora couldn't just have said we offered 100k and as JV didn't accept we signed Roglič anyway.

 

[Salvarani]

Legal system in EU?

You are not allowed to make offers?

Sure.

 

[Keldergoat]

He will fit right in with the Dutch team.

As Ajax once said "We like arrogant people here at Ajax". Think it was in reference to Van Gaal, who for many years of his career been referred to as an "odd ball" and very arrogant.

I just wanted to add a football tidbit myself, since it has been thrown around in here.

Don't generalize Dutch people, especially when you put us at par with Ajax fans. Many of us despise that club and their arrogance and self-indulgence. But there is a point to be made that JV resembles of that club in some ways: Zeeman and Plugge definitely aren't the most humble characters on earth.