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

[Coffeeplanter]

Clearly something has gone wrong with his training/preparation/health. He started the year in decent but not great shape, he looked to be coming into very good form in the Giro, then got ill, then fell off a cliff in the middle of Tour de Suisse. Saying that he's regressing is really jumping at conclusions.

In the light of some of his performances the year prior in la Vuelta, mainly on Tourmalet, I wasn't overly impressed with what he did in the Giro, for how long it lasted. Could he have gotten better in the race? Maybe, but his performances in Gran Camiño and Tirreno don't scream much confidence to me either despite the free rides he got in the shadow of Vingegaard.

 

[Jagartrott]

Sadly he gets big money for how *** he is.

What's the reason for posting a thing like this? He was very good last year, considering he was only 20. This year, something seems to have gone wrong after the Giro. Still a virus in him? Mononucleosis or something like that? In any case, something is off. So a downright nasty statement such as this, why? I don't get people like you.

 

[Rackham]

What's the reason for posting a thing like this? He was very good last year, considering he was only 20. This year, something seems to have gone wrong after the Giro. Still a virus in him? Mononucleosis or something like that? In any case, something is off. So a downright nasty statement such as this, why? I don't get people like you.

Context?

It's pretty rare for some 20 year old to just unilaterally delete a pro contract with a world tour team & sign for a rival. It certainly caused a ruckus last December, that's for sure.

It wasn't a clean transfer & his comments vis-à-vis Bora were very unprofessional.

 

[Bolder]

Sans Jorgenson, Visma has been misjudging everyone on their team badly, looking at overall performance.

Jokes aside, I do not understand why Blobloblo is at this level. He is not bad, he is godawful. Back when he was a junior he visited several pro team training camps, Jumbo among them. They should have had proper insight into his # before even signing him. He didn't come into the pros overcooked with huge training hours, he didn't come into the pros dieting like a monk, and yet, three years into his pro career he seems to be regressing. Very weird progression curve.

He could be overtraining or have some sort of fatigue syndrome. Hopefully he and Visma sort it out. We're pretty quick to jump on riders when things go badly but aside from Moscon I really don't wish ill on anyone in the peloton.

 

[Rob5091]

Post-stage 7 interview with VTM -on
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...r-suffering-dead-legs-on-stage-7-at-la-vuelta

“I rode as hard as I can, but I still have a numb feeling in my legs and everything just blocks," Uijtdebroeks reflects in his post-stage interview with VTM afterwards, completely unsure of what went wrong for him on a day supposedly not for the general classification riders.
"We have often said that it could be due to fatigue or 'this or that', but it can't be that it keeps coming back. It can't just be fatigue every time," he continues. "I have never experienced riding around with such a numb feeling. I just can't do anything anymore. That is not normal. On such a short climb I should be able to sit much more at the front.”

"You do everything for it and work really hard. If this happens once, it's not so bad. But now it happens all the time and that's not fun. I feel like I'm riding around with swollen legs that don't produce any power. A feeling I've never had before," the Team Visma | Lease a Bike prospect concludes.

Original article at https://www.hln.be/vuelta/dit-is-ni...-verdoofd-gevoel-in-benen-rondrijdt~adfd3082/

Whatever we might think of the young man, something is off with Visma's training. Either that or he has some illness that needs treating. I hope he can find the cause of the problem and be able to race again at 100%.

 

[Netserk]

What's the reason for posting a thing like this? He was very good last year, considering he was only 20. This year, something seems to have gone wrong after the Giro. Still a virus in him? Mononucleosis or something like that? In any case, something is off. So a downright nasty statement such as this, why? I don't get people like you.

He deserves far worse after his behaviour last year.

 

[ppanther92]

Sans Jorgenson, Visma has been misjudging everyone on their team badly, looking at overall performance.

Jokes aside, I do not understand why Blobloblo is at this level. He is not bad, he is godawful. Back when he was a junior he visited several pro team training camps, Jumbo among them. They should have had proper insight into his # before even signing him. He didn't come into the pros overcooked with huge training hours, he didn't come into the pros dieting like a monk, and yet, three years into his pro career he seems to be regressing. Very weird progression curve.

I think he was overhyped for what results he actually had to show for. But obviously he was at least way better last year, so something went very wrong.

 

[Red Rick]

Complains about numb feelings in the legs.

Could be the constricted iliac artery thing

 

[peterfin]

Context?

It's pretty rare for some 20 year old to just unilaterally delete a pro contract with a world tour team & sign for a rival. It certainly caused a ruckus last December, that's for sure.

It wasn't a clean transfer & his comments vis-à-vis Bora were very unprofessional.

Context

You don't delete a contract. A contract has terms that need to be respected. We don't know the terms. It might have given him a way out. In the end there was an agreement that satisfied both parties. Regarding his comments vis-a-vus Bora: we cannot check them so we cannot judge them either.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I think he was overhyped for what results he actually had to show for. But obviously he was at least way better last year, so something went very wrong.

What results should he have had, to justify the hype, you feel? And what would have been the right amount of hype? He won Avenir, he finished 5 GC's in the top 10 at the age of 20. Four of which WT stageraces, including the Vuelta. As a GC rider, his results have been two levels above those of Lenny Martinez for instance, just to name one.

Maybe the real problem is people expect every kid with pedigree, to be a finished article at the age of 20. Taking Pogacar and Evenepoel out of the discussion, not a lot of kids warranted more hype than Uijtdebroeks in the past decade. So i think it's a bit funny how people are now acting as if he's some chump.

 

[saunaking]

Context?

It's pretty rare for some 20 year old to just unilaterally delete a pro contract with a world tour team & sign for a rival. It certainly caused a ruckus last December, that's for sure.

It wasn't a clean transfer & his comments vis-à-vis Bora were very unprofessional.

Ivan Sosa v2

 

[saunaking]

What results should he have had, to justify the hype, you feel? And what would have been the right amount of hype? He won Avenir, he finished 5 GC's in the top 10 at the age of 20. Four of which WT stageraces, including the Vuelta. As a GC rider, his results have been two levels above those of Lenny Martinez for instance, just to name one.

Maybe the real problem is people expect every kid with pedigree, to be a finished article at the age of 20. Taking Pogacar and Evenepoel out of the discussion, not a lot of kids warranted more hype than Uijtdebroeks in the past decade. So i think it's a bit funny how people are now acting as if he's some chump.

Lenny has panache and wins ***

 

[Berniece]

He deserves far worse after his behaviour last year.

Like what? Be specific on what you think a 20-year old kid should “deserve” according to you

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Clearly something's not right. He's been a disaster since Catalunya. Still, it's hard not to start questioning whether the potential is really that big, especially since he's a very limited rider who only has his climbing as his forte. Now it seems like he doesn't even have that. I'm curious to hear from Visma what went wrong this year. I think doing Suisse shortly after withdrawing the Giro was never a good idea, but perhaps the issue is that his base form simply isn't good enough and that's what they tried to fix by giving him some race km's.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Likely the weight of (self) expectations plays a role too. Forgetting about all that for a while and to have some fun on the bike again. Help out, keep something in a reserve and maybe to go in a breakaway on some stage. To get the right feelings back, racing. The rest if out of reach anyway and best to plan it for more gradually progressing in years to come.

 

[ppanther92]

What results should he have had, to justify the hype, you feel? And what would have been the right amount of hype? He won Avenir, he finished 5 GC's in the top 10 at the age of 20. Four of which WT stageraces, including the Vuelta. As a GC rider, his results have been two levels above those of Lenny Martinez for instance, just to name one.

Maybe the real problem is people expect every kid with pedigree, to be a finished article at the age of 20. Taking Pogacar and Evenepoel out of the discussion, not a lot of kids warranted more hype than Uijtdebroeks in the past decade. So i think it's a bit funny how people are now acting as if he's some chump.

Ofc he is above Lenny Martinez innjunior results but in my memory there were people that saw exactly the next Pogacar and Evenepoel in him and for that I have not seen nearly enough to ever belive this hype. But ifc - thats a matter of perception, I agree.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I suspect the trainers got it wrong. I heard some stories from Christian Moberg, a Danish commentator and a DS for a small Danish conti team, that he was not too fond of the training they did already back in January. Apparantly Moberg was following the training camp for a few days. It was said it was way too boring and slow for him, so he would ride some meters behind of the guys to not get draft and therefore increase his watts. So either the trainers got it wrong, or maybe they got it right, but he didn't really follow the program.

 

[Coffeeplanter]

Ofc he is above Lenny Martinez innjunior results but in my memory there were people that saw exactly the next Pogacar and Evenepoel in him and for that I have not seen nearly enough to ever belive this hype. But ifc - thats a matter of perception, I agree.

This nonsense needs to stop, immediately. To anyone who follows the juniors Uijtdebroeks was never regarded or seen as a Pogacar/Remco type of talent. The sole comparison exists because the idiot that is Jef Robert of Tormans, making a bunch of moronic statements based on nothing else than a climbing time.

The same is now happening with AJ August, and he is not of that level either. It ain't fair and it's dumb.

 

[ppanther92]

based on nothing else than a climbing time.

Just saying that I read this a lot. So it was out there (and also here in the forum to some degree). And thats probably also not healthy for a young rider’s development anyway, to have that sort of comparison.

 

[Berniece]

Ofc he is above Lenny Martinez innjunior results but in my memory there were people that saw exactly the next Pogacar and Evenepoel in him and for that I have not seen nearly enough to ever belive this hype. But ifc - thats a matter of perception, I agree.

Well in Belgium they saw him as a future GT winner. Not necessarily as the next Evenepoel/Pogacar, but definitely a GT winner.

I think he can still become such a rider and win a GT. He’ll probably ride the Giro again next year

 

[hfgon1]

I think the high expectations came more from himself than from anywhere else. He wanted to leave Bora because he felt that they are limiting his results and dont honouring his results enough. Now he is back on earth and in reality, realizing that maybe his team wasnt the major issue while he has to work hard on himself. But his latest statements are full of excuses again.

Of course, something doesnt seem right at the moment and he is capable of doing better. But maybe his head is whats holding him back. Fatigue can be a lot mental and I can imagine that he felt a lot of pressure after his departure from Bora and then wanted to show everyone what he is capable of with better material. Then it didnt went as he expected while also didnt finishing the Giro so the Vuelta was his last chance to save this season. A lot of pressure for a young guy and maybe his problem is more mental than in his legs right now.

New season and new luck with a new mentality maybe. He is surely capable of having some great years ahead of him. But this year was completely disappointing.

 

[peterfin]

Well in Belgium they saw him as a future GT winner. Not necessarily as the next Evenepoel/Pogacar, but definitely a GT winner.

I think he can still become such a rider and win a GT. He’ll probably ride the Giro again next year

Prior to the TdF many from Belgium and beyond give him a better chance winning the TdF than Evenepoel. Even guys such as Alex Carrera voiced their opinion. I am not in that camp but it shows how high people value him.

I am not saying it's impossible but it will be challenge for him to win a GT in the current era. He can't TT and he accelerates 'like an iron' as they say in Dutch. He will need to make up for it with exceptional w/kg and it looks like some contenders are basically at the physical max atm. I am also still waiting to see him on a podium of a (climb) stage or one week pro race. He is still very young but I fear that the next 2 years he needs to show significant progress to justify his GT dream.

 

[Berniece]

Prior to the TdF many from Belgium and beyond give him a better chance winning the TdF than Evenepoel. Even guys such as Alex Carrera voiced their opinion. I am not in that camp but it shows how high people value him.

I am not saying it's impossible but it will be challenge for him to win a GT in the current era. He can't TT and he accelerates 'like an iron' as they say in Dutch. He will need to make up for it with exceptional w/kg and it looks like some contenders are basically at the physical max atm. I am also still waiting to see him on a podium of a (climb) stage or one week pro race. He is still very young but I fear that the next 2 years he needs to show significant progress to justify his GT dream.

Yeah that was when people thought Evenepoel couldn't win a GT. A lot of people here thought that too.

I like to give riders a bit more time before passing judgement or thinking they aren't able to make proper steps forward. If Uijtdebroeks has another season like this one next year, then I start to think he was too hyped. At the moment I still see a good reason on why he didn't ride that well.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Yeah that was when people thought Evenepoel couldn't win a GT. A lot of people here thought that too.

I like to give riders a bit more time before passing judgement or thinking they aren't able to make proper steps forward. If Uijtdebroeks has another season like this one next year, then I start to think he was too hyped. At the moment I still see a good reason on why he didn't ride that well.

First of all, there were people who bought into the "better than Evenepoel" BS by his team manager that was obviously complete bollocks -people could just compare junior results- and those people have nobody to blame but themselves. Like Coffeeplanter said, same now with AJ August being called "Remco with more power" by his manager.

Secondly, same happened with Evenepoel, and now people act surprised that he finished on the podium of the TDF, because "he always had a bad day" (after crashing, after heatstroke, with covid...).

 

[Ripper]

Taking the dude's comments at face value, sounds like he needs some neuro and vascular testing done. Fibrosis or claudation sound like possible root causes if he actually feels numbness in his legs.